And Of Things That Will Bite
by siriusly lupine
Summary: This was written for Lady Acacia’s ‘The Furry Subculture’ challenge, in which Hermione becomes a werewolf but doesn’t tell anyone. Remus is the first to discover her secret and from there…well, you’ll see. HGRL Took 2nd place in challenge!
1. 1: Things that will bite

**Disclaimer: What do you think...HP belongs to JKR and the lyrics belong to Metallica – I am just borrowing both to amuse myself and, hopefully, some of you. **

**Okay, okay…so I know that I have two other fics that I should REALLY be working on….but this challenge just caught my eye a while back and I only just decided to go ahead and do it last week – I didn't leave myself much time, considering the deadline is the end of the month, but I wanted to give it a shot.**

**This was written for Lady Acacia's 'The Furry Subculture' challenge, in which Hermione becomes a werewolf but doesn't tell anyone. Remus is the first to discover her secret and from there…well, you'll see.**

**The following were included as part of the challenge:**

_** Detailed description of Hermione's transformation.**_

_** Hints of her condition that her closest friends somehow overlook.**_

_** Hermione is ousted by some people she considered friends when everyone finds out about her dirty little secret.**_

_** Harry and Ron not talking to her for a semi-long duration for some reason.**_

_** And, finally, sarcasm.**_

**The story is supposed to be at least T-rated, but I chose to go with an M-rating, just because, well, you never know what might happen when you are dealing with one randy werewolf, let alone two randy werewolves, right?**

**Anyhow, on with the challenge response….be sure to let me know what you think, please!**

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_**Something's wrong, shut the light**_

_**Heavy thoughts tonight**_

_**And they aren't of Snow White**_

_**Dreams of war, dreams of liars**_

_**Dreams of dragon's fire**_

_**And of things that will bite…**_

_**-Enter Sandman by Metallica**_

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**Chapter One**

**Things that will bite….**

It was midnight and the full moon was high in the sky, so, naturally, it was the perfect time to go picking fresh ingredients in the Forbidden Forest as part of an Advanced Potions assignment. At least, that's what one Hermione Granger, Head Girl, thought. Though it seems she forgot to consider the many frightening and, well, deadly creatures that roam the forest at night, and, especially, during the full moon.

This thought seemed to occur to the Head Girl as she collected her last sample of unicorn tail hair off a nearby twig. It was at that precise moment that a piercing howl ripped through the quiet night air, causing the hair to rise on the back of the young woman's neck.

_What the bloody hell was that? I knew I shouldn't have come out here alone! Damn Snape and his insipid potions projects!_

The howl ripped through the night air again and Hermione's head whipped around furiously as she tried to discern from which direction the hideous sound came from.

_Merlin, I can't see a damn thing! I am way too deep in the forest, even the light of the moon is blocked…light of the moon…wait a second…oh, no…it's the full moon! Way to go, Granger! Way to forget that the full moon equals werewolves, you ninny! _

_Why don't you just serve yourself up on a platter marked 'fresh virginal meat' for all the fucking creatures of this bloody forest! So much for being 'the brightest witch of your age'!_ _Just fucking brilliant, you are!_

With that thought, Hermione grabbed her newly collected ingredients and took off towards the castle. Her pace was frantic as she sprinted through the forest, catching branches in the face and occasionally tripping on exposed roots.

Her heart was beating so fast and loud, yet it did not stifle the sound of branches breaking behind her, or the pounding of feet, or paws, whatever the case may be.

She would not let herself look back, even as she heard a feral growl entirely too clear over her ragged breath. She just kept pushing herself to run as fast as her eighteen-year-old legs would carry her.

_Don't stop, don't look back_ became her mantra. And it seemed to work, as she could see the edge of the forest just up ahead, and beyond that lay the safe haven – Hogwarts.

_What I wouldn't give to be lying safe and sound, not to mention clean and warm, in my bed right now! I don't even have my wand! Why did I think that I wouldn't need it? Just fucking brilliant, you are, yet again!  
_

Hermione continued to run, barely paying attention to the painful slaps of the branches. She wanted nothing more than to escape this very foolish moment unharmed. The feral growl behind her was getting ever closer, and Hermione could almost feel the panting breath of the snarling beast as it chased her.

_Hagrid's Hut!_

It was just a hundred meters away, yet it felt like a hundred kilometers, and worse yet, she knew she would not make it to safety in time. Suddenly, she heard the beast lurch and, a moment later, felt a heavy weight slam into her back. The impact was so hard that the wind was knocked right out of her and she tumbled to the ground without breath. 

_Oh, Merlin help me! Where the bloody hell is Hagrid when you need him? Surely the half-giant could be of some help right now? Don't tell me he didn't even hear me screaming? What is he, deaf?_

It didn't occur to her that she never screamed, that her sole concentration was on running as fast as she could. And, now it was too late. There was no breath left for her to scream with, it was knocked out by the beast which was currently towering over her in all its werewolf glory.

Hermione stared at the beast standing above her, praying to whatever deity was listening, for the beast to make it quick.

Apparently, no one was listening on this tragic night, for it seemed, at least to Hermione that the beast stared, and growled, at her for an eternity.

Hermione searched the beast's eyes for any sign of the person that she knew was way deep down inside of this unfortunate creature. There was nothing but complete animalistic rage and hunger in those eyes, and it terrified her.

Finally, the beast lurched forward and sank its sharp canines into Hermione's shoulder.

The pain was unbearable. And so was the realization of what this bite meant for her future. Still, the only screaming Hermione could do was in her head. She could not even force out a whimper, the pain was all-consuming.

_Please, just let me die right now. This pain is too much to bear._

Her body agreed, as she finally passed out from the trauma of it all. The beast released his victim and left, clearly under the impression that she was dead and no longer provided a challenge for him.

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The next morning, Hermione woke up feeling very sore, with a very strange burning pain in her shoulder. Without opening her eyes, Hermione tried to sit up but couldn't for the pain in her shoulder was just too much at the moment.

Instead, she laid back on the hard ground and….wait, hard ground? Hermione's eyes shot open and blearily stared around.

_Why am I laying on the ground? Why am I in the Forbidden Forest?_

Hermione stared at her surroundings, trying to recall why she would wake up in the forest.

Pain shot through her shoulder again and she looked to see why it hurt. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of the rather gruesome bite mark that graced her left shoulder and the events of last night came back to her.

_Oh Merlin, I was bitten by a werewolf! What am I going to do? _

_A werewolf…_

_Could it have been Professor Lupin?_

_Nah, he had the wolfsbane potion sitting in front of him when I visited his office before dinner last night._

Hermione looked around again before she decided to try getting up again. It was painful, considering the battered condition of her body, but after several tries, she was able to stand on wobbly legs.

As she hobbled out of the forest, her bag of ingredients in hand, Hermione spotted Hagrid and Fang out in Hagrid's garden.

_Oh Hagrid, where were you last night when I needed your help? _ Hermione thought sadly as she watched her half-giant friend. _Never mind that, how am I going to get up to the castle without you or Fang spotting me?_

Hermione watched as Hagrid tended to his giant pumpkins, waiting for him to either go back into his hut or turn his back toward her so that she could sneak her way up to the castle.

Her opportunity came five minutes later when Fang tore off after some little furry creature or another, causing Hagrid to follow after him.

Hermione hobbled her way up to the castle as quickly as her bruised and battered body could go. She stumbled her way up the steps to the Entrance Hall, which was empty thankfully, and through to the stairs leading up to her Head Girl rooms. She made the journey without running into a single person and collapsed on her bed in exhaustion.

_I'll just rest for a while,_ she thought as her eyes closed and she fell into a fitful slumber.

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Five hours later, Hermione woke up from her nap, her shoulder still burning in pain.

_I have to do something about this wound. I really don't want to go to Madame Pomfrey, she'll want me to explain how it happened and she'll want to notify Dumbledore. I can't tell anyone about this._

Hermione rummaged around her room looking for her wand. Finding it in the pocket of her robes, she entered her private bathroom and used it to cast a cleansing spell on her shoulder. She also used a basic healing spell on all the cuts and scrapes from the branches, but she didn't know a healing spell strong enough for the werewolf bite.

"I'll just have to bandage it up for now," Hermione told her reflection as she conjured up some bandages.

Once her wound was bandaged, she freshened up and dressed in clean clothes. She sat on her bed and looked at the clock, trying to decide what to do next.

_Looks like I slept through breakfast and lunch. Good, I'm not at all hungry anyway, and I really don't feel like facing everyone at the moment. What are they going to say when they find out that I am now a werewolf? _

_Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of her time, too stupid to know better than to venture out into the forest during the full moon. Oh yes, you are so very intelligent, Granger._

_What am I going to do? I can't be a werewolf! There are so many things that I wanted to do that I won't be able to do now. The laws against half-breeds are so strict these days. My life is ruined!_

Hermione started pacing her room as her thoughts consumed her.

_I could talk to Professor Lupin, I'm sure he would be able to give me advice on my newfound situation. No, then he would insist that I tell everyone, or worse, he would tell them himself. No, I can't let that happen._

_I'm going to have to figure something out before the next full moon, though. I can't be changing into a bloody werewolf without anyone noticing. _

_Hmm, maybe I can ask Professor Snape to teach me how to brew the wolfsbane potion! He has to brew it every month for Professor Lupin; he would probably see it as a relief if someone else brewed it._

Hermione stopped her pacing with that last thought and sat down on her bed. Crookshanks immediately jumped up and settled in her lap.

"That's it, Crooksie, I'll ask Professor Snape right now," she said to her faithful companion before she sprang up from the bed and made her way out of the room.

Hermione passed very few people on her way down to the dungeons, which she was quite happy about. She really did not want to face many people today. In fact, she did not want to face anyone, but it seemed a necessary evil to see at least the potions professor.

Outside the potions classroom, Hermione stopped to collect her courage, and her breath. She walked in through the open door and made her way to the door leading to Professor Snape's office. Once she was standing in front of the door, she took a deep breath and knocked softly.

Without a word the door opened. Hermione looked up to see Professor Lupin standing there holding the door open while Professor Snape was leaning back against the front of his desk.

"Why hello, Hermione," Professor Lupin said with a friendly smile. "What brings you down here on a Saturday afternoon?"

Hermione stared nervously at him for a moment before she answered. "Hullo, Professor Lupin. I wanted to speak to Professor Snape about a potential project."

"Right, well come in, Hermione. I'm sure Professor Snape would be happy to help you with whatever project you have in mind, right Severus?"

The dark-haired man glared at the friendly professor for a moment before he turned his attention to Hermione.

"Oh, I am downright overjoyed to help Miss Granger in her annoyingly enthusiastic need to over-achieve," Professor Snape nearly snarled at the other professor.

"Now, now, Severus, there is no need to be so bubbly and friendly," Professor Lupin said with a smile toward Hermione.

Hermione flashed him a weak grin and moved forward to speak to Professor Snape.

"What 'potential project' did you feel the need to discuss on a Saturday afternoon, Miss Granger?"

"Well, sir, I was wondering if, well, I understand that you have a lot of things going on and don't have much time, so I thought, perhaps, I might be able to help you out with a certain potion, well that is if you have the time to teach me how to brew if first, then I could brew it from then on, and…" Hermione rambled before she was cut off by Professor Snape.

"Get to the point Miss Granger. Even though it is the weekend, I do not have all day to decipher your babbling," Professor Snape said as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

Hermione glanced nervously at Professor Lupin before she took a calming breath and started her explanation again. This time it was much more coherent and concise.

"I was wondering, sir, if you would be able to teach me how to brew the wolfsbane potion, so that I may relieve you from the burden of brewing it for Professor Lupin every month," she said, avoiding the surprised look Professor Lupin shot her.

"Hermione, are you sure that you want to be responsible for brewing that potion every month?" Professor Lupin asked her before Professor Snape had a chance to say anything.

_Why do you have to question this, Remus? I need to do this. If only you knew, then you wouldn't be trying to talk me out of it_, Hermione thought.

"Yes, Professor Lupin, I would be happy to do it," Hermione replied without meeting his eyes.

Hermione could still feel him watching her as she waited for Professor Snape's response.

"I will teach you after dinner this coming week, but only because it will help me, not because I want to help you. I want you here at 8 o'clock sharp every night this week. If you are one minute late, the deal is off. Do you understand me, Miss Granger?"

"Yes, sir," Hermione replied, "I understand. Thank you, sir."

_Thank Merlin! I don't know what I would have done had he said no! _Hermione thought as she turned around to make her way out of the room.

She walked past Professor Lupin without looking at him; for fear that he would see what she has become consumed her. Once she reached the door, she stopped briefly and turned to say goodbye.

Before she could make it out of the potions classroom, however, she heard the door to Snape's office close and footsteps approaching her.

"Hermione, wait, I will walk with you," Remus said in a soft voice.

Hermione did not want to wait and walk with him, but since he was a professor, she could not be purposely insubordinate. Instead, she walked through the door to the hallway and waited for him out there.

_Just behave normally. Nothing is different. He doesn't know that you are a werewolf, nor does he need to know. Just be your normal self._ She found this easier to think than do, however.

"Is everything okay, Hermione?"

"Yes, Professor, everything is fine. Why do you ask?"

"No reason, really. You just seem, oh I don't know, nervous and agitated; I just thought something might be wrong."

"No, sir, I am fine, really. Thank you for your concern, though, I appreciate it. I really have to go, sir. I will see you at dinner, Professor Lupin," Hermione said hurriedly as she started to walk faster in effort to leave Professor Lupin behind.

She could tell that he knew she was lying and she really did not want to be near him long enough for him to tell her so.

"If you ever need to talk about anything, Hermione, I am always here," Remus said to her back as she hurried down the hall. The only sign that she heard him was a little wave of her right hand as she picked up her pace and nearly jogged up the dungeon stairs.

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**Well, there you go…**

**The next chapter is already written, so I will probably post it in the next day or two.**

**Since this is a challenge response fic, and the deadline for it is the end of January, I will probably make this a short one….maybe a nice round ten chapters or something – just long enough to accomplish the goals with a bit of embellishment, but nothing too drawn out. That way I can get back to the two other fics I have going right now….**


	2. 2: There must be something more

**Disclaimer: As always, HP belongs to JKR and the lyrics belong to Evanescence – I am just borrowing them to amuse myself and, hopefully, some of you. **

**Thanks for the reviews for last chapter!**

**Here is the next little bit…I am working on the next chapter tonight, Merlin only knows when it will be finished though.**

**Anyway, enjoy…**

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_**All this time I can't believe I couldn't see**_

_**Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me**_

_**I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems**_

_**Got to open my eyes to everything**_

_**Without a thought, without a voice, without a soul**_

_**Don't let me die here**_

_**There must be something more**_

_**Bring me to life**_

_**-Bring me to life by Evanescence**_

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**Chapter Two**

**There must be something more…**

Monday at dinner, Hermione is sitting in her normal seat at the Gryffindor table, having a quiet conversation with Ginny about one of Ginny's latest conquests. Harry and Ron are sitting across from them talking about, what else, Quidditch.

"So, have you told Harry and your brother about having a date with Malfoy?" Hermione whispered to her best girl friend.

"Are you kidding? I don't have an immediate death wish! I figured that I would give it a go and see if it even works out first," Ginny whispered back.

"Hey! What are you two whispering about over there?" Ron questioned loudly, his mouth half-full with food.

"Nothing that is any of your business, dear brother," Ginny said.

"They are probably just talking about boys, Ron," Harry joined in with a smirk.

Hermione and Ginny both rolled their eyes at the boys.

"So, 'Mione, we have an evening practice tonight. Are you going to come down to the pitch and watch?" Harry asked.

"Um, I can't, not tonight. I have a meeting with Professor Snape."

"WHAT? You would rather meet with the greasy dungeon bat than watch us practice? What kind of friend are you?" Ron shouted at Hermione, causing Harry and Ginny to gape at him in surprise, along with half of the Gryffindor table

Hermione just glared at him for a moment before she replied.

"For your information, Ronald, it is an academic meeting, which takes precedence over your Quidditch practice, believe it or not," Hermione replied icily. "And just so you know, I am the kind of friend who would be there if I did not have a pressing prior engagement preventing me from doing so. I think the relevant question here is what kind of friend are you to be questioning me like that?"

Ron looked at his plate shamefully, feeling properly chastised. Harry and Ginny each stuffed their faces with food in order to prevent themselves from chuckling at their red-headed, and now red-faced, friend.

"I have to go meet Professor Snape now, I'll see you guys later," Hermione said as she gathered her stuff and got up from the table.

"Bye 'Mione!" Harry and Ginny yelled as she walked out of the Hall.

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"I have written the ingredients and instructions on the board, Miss Granger. I expect you to copy them down and start on the potion immediately, as it will take a week to brew. You will find everything you need has already been collected for you," Professor Snape spoke without lifting his head from the paper he was grading at his desk.

"Thank you, sir."

Hermione set to work copying the list of ingredients and instructions. Next, she prepared the ingredients and set the cauldron on heat. She worked diligently for several hours without a word from Professor Snape.

Finally, at eleven o'clock, Professor Snape spoke up.

"That is enough for tonight, Miss Granger. You can pick up where you left off tomorrow evening."

Hermione cast a stasis spell on the potion and cleaned up her work area. As she was gathering up her parchment, quill, and ink to store in her bag, Professor Snape spoke again.

"By the way, Miss Granger, how is your Advanced Potions assignment coming along? Were you able to gather the necessary ingredients during the full moon as I instructed?"

Hermione froze at his words. _Does he know?_

She looked up at him, eyes wide, to see that he was still grading papers, no sign of malicious intent on his face. _No, he doesn't know. He was just asking to make sure I was able to complete the assignment. _Hermione felt relief flood her.

"It is coming along well, sir. I was able to collect everything the other night, no problem."

"Very good, I will see you tomorrow, Miss Granger, eight o'clock sharp," Professor Snape said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Hermione was exhausted as she left the potions classroom and she couldn't wait to get back to her rooms to sleep. Thankfully, she did not have to do rounds tonight.

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The week passed in much the same manner as Monday – classes, meals, brewing the wolfsbane potion in the potions classroom with Snape, and passing out completely exhausted at the end of the long day.

Hermione would also find herself losing her temper with Harry and Ron more often than usual. For some reason she was much less tolerant of the two of them prying into her life all the time. Now that she has a dirty little secret to hide, things are different.

She was also always tired and losing weight, though no one seemed to notice, except for Professor Lupin, that is.

She had DADA class three times during the week, and each time Professor Lupin would look at her with concern written in his features. After the last class, he asked her again if everything was okay. He said that he was worried about her, but she just brushed off his concern.

She was never more grateful for the weekend than she was right then. No classes, no special projects or meetings, no pressing homework that needed to be completed. No, Hermione just had two completely free days to rest and relax…and avoid people at all costs.

She was so busy during the week that she didn't really have a chance to come to terms with her newfound condition. Now, she was faced with two whole days of no responsibility in which she would use to get herself used to the fact that she is now a werewolf.

The first place she would start is with sleep. She planned on sleeping a lot, as that seems to be a major requirement when one is a werewolf.

_In fact, I will work on getting more sleep starting now_, she thought as she huddled beneath the warm covers. Today was especially exhausting, having to endure more harassment from Harry and Ron about missing all of their Quidditch practices this week.

_You would think that I have nothing better to do in my life than to be there watching every single one of their bloody practices! Do they even realize how often they practice?_

The last session with Snape was quite tiring since she had to tie up all the loose ends with the potion, which took longer than the requisite three hours she spent on it each previous night that week.

_Thank Merlin that I am all done 'learning' the potion. Now I can get to sleep at a decent hour each night. Until I have to brew the potion again next month, that is._

The next thing she would do is work on her appetite. It seemed to vanish the night she was bitten and it was starting to show. In one week, she lost a noticeable amount of weight – well, at least noticeable to her. Thanks to school uniforms and robes, no one else seemed to notice her drop in weight.

_I will start to eat more normally, even if I have to force it down, because I can't have anyone noticing that something is wrong_, she thought as her eyes drifted shut and sleep consumed her.

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"Miss Granger, please stay after class," Professor Lupin said as the students were packing up their parchment and quills.

Hermione sighed heavily at having to stay behind. She knew that Professor Lupin was going to ask her if everything was okay, again, and she really did not want to deal with this right now.

It was only a week until the full moon, and it was taking its toll on Hermione.

Harry and Ron made to wait for Hermione as the other students began filtering out of the classroom, but Hermione waved them off. She really did not need them listening in as Professor Lupin asked about her well being. She didn't need him pointing it out to her oblivious friends if they were incapable of seeing it for themselves.

Harry and Ron hesitated, however. They both looked doubtfully at Hermione, thinking that she was either getting in trouble, for what they didn't know, or she was just going to chat with Remus about school work or something. They didn't know why she would want them to leave if that were the case, so they made to stay anyway. Until Professor Lupin informed them otherwise, that is.

"I promise that Hermione is not in trouble, boys, so you don't need to stay as her moral support team" Professor Lupin told the boys with a friendly smile. "I just need to discuss a class project with her, one that you two would have no interest in."

The boys finally left and Remus turned to Hermione, who was staring pointedly at her feet.

He knew something was wrong with the young woman, and while he had his theories on what it might be, he wanted her to tell him herself. He was starting to really worry about her. Over the past three weeks, he noticed that she looked so tired all the time and she was losing weight.

"Hermione," Remus started, waiting for her to look at him.

She didn't, so he tried again. "Hermione, please look at me."

He waited a moment and she looked up at him slowly.

"Please tell me what is going on with you."

She just looked at him with fearful eyes, and he knew right then that something was wrong, and he was pretty sure that he knew what it was.

"I won't judge you, whatever it is, you must know that. Please tell me, 'Mione," Professor Lupin pleaded.

Maybe it was the pleading tone in his voice, or the use of her nickname, or maybe it was just that she so badly needed someone on her side…whatever it was, she found herself telling him what happened on the night of the full moon three weeks ago.

Hermione broke down in tears mid-way through her tale and Remus moved to take her in his arms.

"I'm sorry, Professor Lupin. I don't mean to be so emotional…it's just…how can I live like this, as a werewolf? How do you do it?" Hermione sobbed.

"Shh, 'Mione. It's okay. I thought that might be the case. It will be a tough journey, but you are a strong young woman. You will survive this, I know you will," Remus soothed the sobbing girl.

Since their class was the last one of the day, Remus decided to escort Hermione into his office for some tea by the fire. He settled her down on the soft leather couch in front of the fire as he set about conjuring up a pot of tea and two cups.

"Would you like to stay here and have dinner with me, 'Mione?" Remus asked softly as he settled in beside the still crying girl. He didn't want her to have to face a hall full of people when she was feeling so distraught.

She merely nodded as he handed her a steaming cup of tea. The two of them sat in silence, each sipping their tea and staring into the fire.

"How…how did you know that something was wrong with me?" Hermione asked suddenly.

Remus looked over at her as he took a sip of tea before answering her sudden question.

"I guess it takes one to know one, is what it comes down to. I noticed something that day in Professor Snape's office…I noticed immediately that there was something vastly different with you then. The sudden interest in learning to brew the Wolfsbane Potion, how timid you were, not looking me in the eye, it was all a bit suspicious. Then it came to me almost immediately after you left me in the hallway."

"Oh," was all Hermione could say. After a moment she added, "Please promise me that you won't tell anyone."

Remus was struck by the desperate tone in her voice and felt that he could do nothing but agree. He knew that she understood deep down that she would have to tell people eventually. She just wasn't ready to consider that yet.

"It's not my place to tell anyone, 'Mione."

Silence befell them again for several long minutes. Both of them were consumed with thoughts and neither knew what to say to the other. A faint pop broke the silence as a house elf appeared to deliver the same dinner that was being served in the Great Hall.

"What are you planning to do for the full moon," Professor Lupin asked while they both picked at their dinners.

"Well, I have the wolfsbane potion already prepared, so I will probably just curl up in my rooms during the night," Hermione replied.

"Why don't you come here instead," Professor Lupin said. "No sense in both of us being alone when we will be going through the same misery."

He smiled at Hermione as he waited for her response.

"I would like that, Professor Lupin."

"I think it would be okay if you called me Remus when we are alone. No need for all this formality if we are going to be spending so much time together."

"Okay Remus," Hermione said, enjoying the way his name rolled off her tongue.

Memories of her long ago crush on the DADA professor began to resurface at that moment.

_Oh, no you don't! That is the last thing you need right now, you silly cow. The man is just trying to help you with a very difficult situation because he understands what you are going through, and here you are, entertaining old fancies! Just forget about it right now._

_You are nothing more than a student in need of help to him anyhow._

Hermione successfully banished all thoughts about fancying Professor Lupin and the two lycanthropes relaxed and talked about many things for the rest of the evening.

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	3. 3: The moon's come and gone

**Disclaimer: Same as before…HP belongs to JKR and the lyrics belong to Norah Jones – I am just borrowing both to amuse myself and, hopefully, some of you. **

**Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! If I haven't thanked you personally yet, I will get to it, I promise!**

**I just want to let everyone know that things may move quickly in this fic….I'm limited on time with this deadline and I want to keep the fic short, so things will need to happen faster than in my other fics. **

**I am usually a big fan of anticipation, but I do think that sometimes it's just as satisfying when the characters get caught up in the moment and things happen real quick. Anyway, just a warning.**

**Here is the next chapter…**

**It's pretty friggin' long too…I couldn't decide where I wanted to end it, so I just kept writing.**

**Enjoy!**

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**_The moon's come and gone but a few stars hang on to the sky  
The wind's running free but it ain't up to me to ask why  
The poets are demanding their pay  
They've left me with nothing to say_**  
_**Accept hold me and tell me you'll be here to love me today**_

_**-Be Here to Love Me by Norah Jones**_

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**Chapter Three**

**The moon's come…and gone**

The full moon was upon them faster than either of them would have liked. The week flew by in a haze of exhaustion and short tempers.

Poor Harry and Ron did not fair well in their normal concern for their friend.

Each time they asked if she would be there to watch them practice, or if she really needed to go to the library yet again, they were met with exasperated and frustrated responses.

Amazingly enough, neither of them noticed the exhaustion in their friend's eyes, the pallid look of her skin, the loss of appetite, or the increasingly baggy clothes that she wore due to the loss of weight from not eating.

No, in all their concern for her not being as involved in their lives as she used to be, they missed the important clues of her condition. Typical boys!

Hermione considered all of this as she made her way to Remus' rooms with two vials of wolfsbane potion.

_I'm not sure whether it is a blessing or a curse that my best friends are so self-absorbed that they don't notice that I am not the same as I always was…_

Finding herself outside Remus' door, Hermione knocked softly three times – their code that it's just her – and waited for Remus to let her in.

Remus opened the door looking exactly how Hermione felt – ragged, tired, and slightly ill.

_Ah, isn't lycanthropy a bitch?_

Remus offered a small but relatively cheerful smile as he motioned Hermione in.

"How are you holding up, Hermione?" Remus asked as Hermione walked past him into the room.

"Well, I feel about the same as you look."

"Ah, right, so you are ready to run a marathon or hit a nightclub?" Remus quipped

Hermione turned to smile up at Remus. "That's right, top form."

Remus turned and led Hermione into his private rooms.

Hermione was in awe the moment she stepped through the doorway.

To her, this was an intimate thing…seeing the bedroom of a man for the first time, especially a man that she was denying old, and deeply hidden, feelings for.

Remus watched her as she made her way slowly around the room, stopping at his many bookcases along the way. He enjoyed watching her, he had for a while now, he realized.

_Don't start thinking inappropriate thoughts now, old man. This is a girl that has a lot on her plate right now. She doesn't need an old werewolf pining for her,_ Remus scolded himself.

His internal scolding still didn't stop his eyes from following her every move, though.

In the past year, she went from a gawky yet mature girl to a beautiful, and still mature, young woman. He did not fail to notice the changes in her, especially the physical ones. He was a man, after all. No, he just _tried_ to ignore them; more often than not he failed miserably.

When she came to the two blankets set out before the fire, she settled down onto the one on the left. Remus moved to join her once she was seated.

"We have about an hour until the moon rises, would you like to have some dinner with me?" Remus asked as they stared into the fire.

"That would be great," Hermione replied. "Oh, and I have our wolfsbane," she added.

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"Okay, Hermione, it's time," Remus said softly as he looked out the window in his room.

Hermione had become steadily more nervous as the hour passed and Remus had done everything he could think of to comfort her and prepare her, mentally, for what was coming.

He knew, however, that nothing could ever prepare her for the transformation itself. It would be the most excruciatingly painful thing that she would ever go through, bar none.

Remus turned to look at Hermione, knowing there were only minutes to go before their worst fears came true. He was not surprised to see the look of utterly debilitating fear on her face, and he could not help but feel the pull at his heart for this young woman. _She should not have to deal with this; she doesn't deserve to be cursed like this._

"I can't do this Remus! I can't do this!" Hermione cried out frantically.

Hermione could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she look at Remus. She knew that there was nothing either of them could do, but that did not stop her from hoping.

Remus wanted to reach out and comfort the young woman before him, but it just wasn't possible.

At that moment, the moon became visible and their dreaded transformations began.

Remus, who has been through this more times than he would like to remember, knew to remain calm and breathe through the pain.

Hermione, however, forgot to breathe as the pain consumed her.

She held her breath as she doubled over; the pain from her bones breaking, stretching and reconnecting, her muscles tearing and stretching, was just too much. She couldn't even scream, for lack of breath and the excruciating pain were incapacitating.

She clawed at her body, her face, anything to get the pain to stop.

_This has to be a fate worse than death! How am I going to survive this every month?_ Hermione could barely think through the torture, but she managed those two thoughts before she heard Remus' voice.

"Breathe, Hermione," Remus rasped, his own body racked with pain. "You have to breathe."

Hermione struggled to take a breath as she watched her hands changing into paws, her nails becoming claws, and she let out a tortured scream.

She tried to fight the transformation as much as she could, even though, logically, she knew it was futile. It was going to happen whether she let it or not, whether she wanted it or not.

She took a ragged breath as she felt her face reforming itself, a snout growing where her nose and mouth should have been. Her skin bubbled and tingled, almost like she took the Polyjuice Potion, as it sprouted fur. She screamed again, but it came out as more of a strangled howl.

She barely noticed that her clothes were now in shreds on the floor around her, having been torn apart from the transformation as well as Hermione tearing at her own skin.

The final straw for her fragile stability was the bending, twisting, and reformation of her spine as she went from a two-legged mammal to a four-legged one…the pain was agonizing. It was just too much to bear and she let out a blood-curdling howl right before she passed out.

Remus watched as she fought the transformation, feeling helpless as there was nothing he could do. It may get easier with time, but it would always be painful.

He continued to watch as she howled and passed out – the pain was just too much for her system. _It is going to be like that the first few times_, he thought sadly. She wasn't far from where he set the blankets earlier, only a few feet away.

He padded over to the blankets and nudged one with his snout. He gently bit down on the corner and dragged the blanket over to Hermione. Before he tugged the blanket over her wolf-form, he stopped to admire her.

She was lying on her side, her head resting directly on the floor. One of her front paws were crossed over the other. She was a beautiful white wolf, with a few small spots of light brown – one on her front left paw, one on her left ear, and another on her belly.

Remus tugged the blanket over part of her body and softly nudged her with his snout. She didn't react, so he settled on the floor next to her to wait until she woke up. He knew from experience that it would probably be a while. He crossed his front paws and settled his head down on them. He let out a soft whine before he closed his eyes.

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Hermione opened her eyes to see a sleeping gray wolf lying beside her on the floor. She felt very warm and groggy.

She blinked her eyes a few times trying to remember where she was and why. It came back to her after a moment of staring at the sleeping gray wolf.

_It it the full moon…I transformed…it was the worst pain I've ever experienced…I must have passed out._

Hermione stretched her wolf-form before standing up on all fours.

It took her a minute to coordinate all four legs…it was much different from working with just two feet.

Once she finally made it to a standing position, she stretched again – her front paws extended in front of her on the floor and all her weight kicked back on her hind legs. Just like her old dog Pudgie used to do.

She looked over at the gray wolf again – he was still sleeping – before she set about getting used to walking on all four feet.

She wobbled around the room trying to coordinate her paws. It felt very awkward, but she was getting the hang of it. She only fell over twice before she made one full turn around the decently sized room.

Once she had the walking mastered, she tried running. Again, she tripped over her own paws twice before she had it down. She even tried chasing her tail for a little bit…it was kind of fun. After that, she tried out her new sense of smell. She bent her snout to the floor and tried to track scents around the room.

At first it was really confusing…so many different scents, it was really difficult to distinguish one from another. After some practice, though, she was able to track Remus' scent throughout the room.

His scent made her think of him.

_He has been a great friend the past couple of weeks, trying to help me come to terms with my fate, letting me stay here with him during my first full moon. He really is a wonderful person._

_He's caring, compassionate, polite, intelligent, respectful, modest, not to mention, handsome. I wonder why he doesn't have a girlfriend, or even a wife. Well, at least I don't think he does. He's never mentioned having either one._

_Merlin, even when I am a wolf I can't help where my mind wanders when I think of Remus. I really need to stop thinking about him…it always leads back to the same place. The place that I just can't go right now, because I know that he does not see me that way, so I ought to just spare myself the embarrassment and heartbreak._

A soft growl jarred Hermione from her thoughts.

She lifted her furry white head from the floor near the four poster bed where she was tracking Remus' scent. She looked toward the fire to see the gray wolf was awake from his nap and stretching.

She watched as he stood and shook out each leg before sniffing the air. She saw him look at the blanket before he bent his snout down to sniff at it. She continued to watch as the wolf flopped down on the blanket and proceeded to roll around on it, growling softly.

If wolves could laugh, she would have.

It was too cute to see the gray wolf rolling around like a puppy, knowing all the while that it was Remus.

She yipped happily to let the gray wolf know that she was there and watched as he suddenly stopped rolling and sprang to his feet.

His gray eyes stared right at her as she stood there. He slowly moved toward her, sniffing the air to catch her scent.

Once he reached her, he nudged her head with his snout and she growled softly. He whined as he laid on the floor in front of her and she nipped his ear before running off.

The two wolves chased each other around the room and took turns tackling one another for the next few hours before they settled down in front of the fire once again.

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Hermione woke up feeling shaky and slightly ill, and decidedly naked.

She looked down at her naked body and wondered why she didn't feel cold. She realized then that she was lying on a blanket less than a foot from the fireplace.

She briefly wondered where Remus was before she turned her head away from the fireplace to see him lying a foot away on the other side of her.

And he was naked as the day he was born as well.

Hermione felt her cheeks flush as she realized they were both naked. But that didn't stop her from admiring Remus in all his glory. After she made sure that he was still sleeping, that is.

He was slim, but not overly so, and fit too. Hermione let her eyes wander slowly over his strong shoulders and chest, which was lightly sprinkled with hair – just the way she liked it, his biceps and forearms, his toned abs, his narrow hips, down to his…

Remus woke up moments after Hermione did, but did not feel like opening his eyes just yet. He was feeling shaky and slightly ill just like Hermione, so he knew that the best thing he could do for the moment is not move around too much.

He felt the heat of Hermione's gaze before he opened his eyes and waited a few minutes to open them, until he couldn't hold back any longer. He had to open his eyes to see her face as she let her gaze wander over him.

He was lying on his back, so he knew she was getting the full view.

He was surprised, however, when he opened his eyes to look at her and saw that she was naked still, lying on her side as she checked him out. He thought for sure that she would have covered herself up right away.

It was apparent that she forgot all about her nudity when she noticed his, as she was too absorbed in the view to bother covering herself.

He couldn't help but let his eyes wander over her naked flesh. _I am a man, after all. And I just so happen to be a man who turns into a hairy beast of burden once a month_.

He let his eyes wander over her smooth skin, her pert breasts, that he just so happened to notice were just the right size for his hands, her smooth belly that just begged to be kissed, and the brown curls at the apex of her thighs…

_Okay, that's enough before I get myself aroused and shock the poor girl into never speaking to me again. 'Smooth belly that just begged to be kissed', I do not need to be having those kinds of thoughts right now. This situation is delicate enough, you randy old wolf. Say something so that we can both end this torture._

It was then that Remus spoke and had to stifle a chuckle as Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin

"Do you like what you see?"

Hermione nearly hit the ceiling, or so it felt to her, when the raspy voice spoke out. Her cheeks flushed again as she looked at Remus in horror.

_I was just ogling my professor's naked body and HE CAUGHT ME! Oh Merlin, I wish the floor would just open up and swallow me whole_. A voice that sounded strangely like Ginny added, _as that is not likely going to happen, you better make the best of it._

He didn't actually expect a reply, so he was surprised, not to mention quite shocked really, when she said, "Actually, yes. You have a nice body. I never would have guessed it was this nice with the clothes that you wear."

Hermione was equally shocked and surprised at having said that, but it was the truth and she couldn't take it back now. Besides, she could always just blame it on Ginny's voice in her head.

_That's a subtle way to let my professor know that I want to shag him. Very smooth, Granger, VERY SMOOTH, _Hermione thought.

"Er, well, thank you, Mione," Remus blushed as he spoke. "As long as we're being honest, you have a very nice body as well."

_Why don't I just tell her that I want to shag her silly, for all the subtly that I possess that is what she probably thinks now anyway, _Remus berated himself.

Oddly enough, neither one of them made a move to cover themselves up yet.

"I think we should get dressed now," they said at the same time. They both chuckled before nodding.

Hermione wrapped a blanket around her and turned around to let Remus walk to his wardrobe without feeling her eyes on him again.

It was then that he realized that Hermione didn't have any clothes to wear, considering her clothing from last night lay in shredded tatters throughout the room.

He quickly dressed himself in a pair of loose fitting ripped jeans and a black t-shirt before he turned around. He looked over to where Hermione was standing with her back to him.

She was wrapped up in the blanket but her shoulders were bare and her russet hair hung in curls that flowed down her back.

_Merlin, even standing there with her back to me she is striking. _

_Oh, damn it, knock it off!_

_I'm sure she doesn't want me drooling over her, so just bloody well knock it off!_

Remus shook his head to push those thoughts away and cleared his throat.

"Mione?" He said, his hoarse voice coming out just a hair above a whisper.

Hermione turned around slowly when Remus said her name, not sure whether he would be dressed or not. When she finally faced his direction she looked up to see that he was, in fact, dressed, and looking quite adorable in his ripped jeans and black shirt.

As Remus watched her slowly turn around, her hair moved away from her left shoulder and he caught a glimpse of where she was bitten. The bite mark seemed to not be healed still and that worried him.

_She must not have treated it properly. It takes a bit more than the average healing spell to take care of an injury like that_, he thought. _I wish I knew that it wasn't healed sooner._

"I just realized that you don't have any clothes to wear back to your rooms," Remus said, feeling his face flush as he watched her check him out again. "Would you like to borrow something of mine?"

Hermione blushed at the thought of wearing his clothes, but what were her options, really?

_What else could I do, walk back to the Head Girl rooms wrapped in nothing but the blanket? I don't think so._

"Thank you, Remus. I think that I will have to considering the state of my clothes from last night," Hermione let out a nervous laugh.

"No problem," Remus replied as he rummaged around in his wardrobe for a shirt that would not be to big on Hermione.

He pulled out a brown t-shirt similar to the black one that he was wearing and turned around to hand it to Hermione.

"I don't know what we should do about pants, though," Remus said shyly. "All of mine will be too big on you, not to mention a few inches too long."

As slim as he was, his pants would still be too big for the slender Head Girl.

Hermione was just about to suggest that maybe a pair of sweat pants would be fine, just to get her back to her rooms, but Remus spoke before she could.

"I know what we can do," he said as he turned back to his wardrobe and pulled out a pair of particularly old and ripped jeans. "I will just transfigure these into a pair that would fit you."

And with that, Remus stepped over to his bedside table and picked up his wand. He transfigured the old tattered jeans into a newer pair of women's jeans that he thought would fit Hermione. He couldn't be sure how good they would fit, though, since he didn't want to be rude and ask her what size she was.

He didn't know all that much about the fairer sex, but he did know better than to ask a woman her size. He learned that one the hard way quite a few years ago.

"Here you go," he said, handing Hermione the jeans. "You can see how those fit, but first I want to take a look at your bite, if you don't mind."

Hermione eyed him carefully for a moment then shook her head and turned around again. She moved the hair away from her left shoulder to give him better access.

Remus examined the wound, noting that it had become infected after not being treated properly for a month. He held up his wand, gently touching her wound with the tip and whispered a complex healing charm that would take care of most of the damage.

Hermione hissed in pain as the wound closed over.

"I'm sorry that it hurt, Mione, but it would only have gotten worse if I didn't fix it now," Remus said softly. He hated the thought of hurting her, but it had to be done to heal the wound.

"It's okay. Thank you for healing it."

Remus nodded and turned around to let Hermione put on the clothes…for some reason, it didn't occur to either of them to retreat to the bathroom to change in private.

As soon as she was sure that Remus' back was turned, she let the blanket drop and slipped the shirt over her head.

She took a moment to smell the shirt – her newfound sense of smell enabled her to smell Remus' scent all over the shirt – and she felt a warm sensation flood her body.

Remembering that she was standing there in just a shirt and nothing else, she quickly pulled on the jeans. They fit perfectly.

_How in the world did Remus know my size?_ Hermione wondered.

"The jeans fit wonderfully, thank you," Hermione said as a way to let Remus know it was okay to turn around.

"That was a lucky guess on my part, but you are welcome nevertheless."

Hermione smiled up at Remus as she made her way closer to him, he just watched her nervously as she approached.

Remus was not at all sure what she was doing, but he was pleased and relieved all at the same time when she reached up and pulled him into a warm hug.

He tried not to think of her body as it pressed into his. He tried not to think of how good she smelled or how soft her hair was. And he really tried not to think about what effect having her so close was having on his body.

It was pure pleasure and extreme torture for him all at the same time. And that is why he pulled away from her embrace before he did something that would embarrass them both.

Hermione was experiencing a similar feeling in regard to the hug and she was equally as worried about causing any embarrassment to either Remus or herself.

She smiled shyly at Remus as she took a step back and tried to subtly compose herself.

"I guess I should be heading back to my rooms now. Thank you for letting me stay here with you," Hermione said earnestly. "I don't know what I would have done without your help, Remus. I don't know how to thank you."

Remus just stared at Hermione for a moment as the wolf popped up in his mind and distracted him.

_Oh, I could think of a few ways that you could thank me…_

_Down boy! Knock it off!_

Remus shook himself mentally and smiled down at Hermione.

"You don't need to thank me, Mione. I am just glad that I was able to help you. I would do anything to make this easier for you," Remus replied as he walked Hermione to the door. "Make sure you go back to your rooms and rest. You will feel a little off for the rest of the day, typical symptom of full moons, you know? Oh, make sure you rub a little healing ointment over the wound area, it will help to lessen the scarring."

Hermione nodded and waved as she left Remus standing at the door, watching her walk away.

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In the week following the full moon, Hermione felt too embarrassed to visit Remus outside of class.

He had seen her naked after all. Not to mention the fact that he caught her blatantly admiring his naked body.

No, it was just too weird right now, there's no way she would be able to look him in the eye if they were in a room alone.

And she really needed to forget all about this silly crush.

She truly thought that she was over it after she met Victor Krum.

Apparently not.

It seemed that she merely talked herself into thinking that she was over it, over him. In reality, her crush on the sexy DADA professor stuck around, hiding in the deep recesses of her mind and heart, just waiting for the right moment to come back and haunt her.

And it seemed that this was the perfect moment, as she was once again haunted by the crush.

_I guess if I had to have a crush on a professor, Remus would be the best choice…not only is he bloody handsome as hell, but he is such a caring soul that he would let me down gently if he were to ever find out._

Still, the thought of him finding out and not returning her feelings frightened her and heightened her embarrassment. Yet the thought of him finding out and actually feeling the same way in return scared her nearly as much. Talk about conflicting emotions.

Little did the Head Girl know that the very object of her thoughts and affections was suffering the same train of thought…

Remus wanted nothing more than to spend time with Hermione, yet felt embarrassed about the events of 'the morning after', as he liked to call it. But then he also wanted to stay as far away from her as possible.

He feared that she would think him a fool for wanting to spend time with a woman her age and he just could not handle that coming from her.

Maybe he _was_ a fool, but he was a fool trying his best to deny feelings that he's kept hidden for quite a while.

It was becoming much harder to deny them, he realized as he watched Hermione leave his classroom without even a glance back at him.

He was trying to not feel hurt that she didn't come to visit him at all the week after the full moon – especially since he was still unsure if he wanted her to. Again with the conflicting emotions!

The two werewolves danced around each other the same way for another week before either of them worked up enough courage to take the initiative.

It was the end of DADA class on Friday, two weeks after the full moon, and Hermione decided that if she did not stay and talk to Remus after class, it would only get to be more weird and uncomfortable by the time she saw him on the night of the next full moon.

She knew the longer she let this go, the harder it would be.

Plus, it's not like keeping her distance had any effect on eliminating her crush. If anything, the distance only served to fortify her true feelings in her heart, and her mind.

_Bollocks to that whole 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' rubbish,_ she thought as she watched the class full of students slowly empty as everyone made their way to the Great Hall for dinner.

Harry and Ron shot her curious glances as they watched her pack up her belongings as slowly as possible. She waved them off in annoyance, wanting them to leave so she could get this 'talking to Remus again' thing over with.

The two boys just shrugged their shoulders at their annoyed friend and waved to Remus as they left.

They were the last ones out, leaving Hermione and Remus standing there staring at each other from across the room.

Neither one spoke for a few minutes as they both watched each other. No movements were made either…the room was completely still and silent.

The silence was broken, as was the stillness, when the classroom door seemed to close of its own accord, causing Hermione to start and Remus to chuckle.

"Didn't mean to startle you, just a little wandless magic, thought we might want a little privacy with the staring contest we had going," Remus joked to ease the uncomfortable tension.

Hermione shook herself and laughed.

"How are you, Remus?"

Remus looked at the young woman thoughtfully for a moment. _Better now that you are here._

He didn't realize that he spoke the words aloud until he saw a soft blush cross Hermione's face as she smiled. He felt his own cheeks flush and he cleared his throat.

"I was going to skip dinner and grade some of these papers" – he pointed to a rather large stack of papers on one corner of his desk – "before they take over my desk. Would you be interested in giving me a hand?" Remus asked, one part of him wanting her to say yes, but another part wanting her to say no at the same time.

He was pleased that she said yes, but nervous and unsure if it was a good idea to be alone with her when he had yet to convince himself that he did not want her.

_Oh, fuck it, just live a little. Go with the flow and see where it takes you_, a voice spoke in his head, sounding suspiciously like Sirius.

He wanted to ignore the thought, since it was exactly what Sirius would tell him in this situation, but he decided to just go with it.

He gathered the stack of papers – he had to give a portion of the pile to Hermione so that he wouldn't have to make two trips – and headed for his office.

The two of them spent a good few hours marking papers and making conversation. All of the embarrassment and confliction that they each felt during the past two weeks seemed to evaporate as soon as they settled into conversation. When they made a good dent in the pile, Remus decided that it was time to quit for the night and ordered a late snack since they skipped dinner.

He and Hermione settle into the chairs by the fire and conversation flowed as the two of them got to know each other better than they already did. They talked about everything from childhood stories to hopes and dreams without any uncomfortable silences or awkwardness.

It was some time after curfew when Hermione left his office, each of them wishing that the night didn't have to end.

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	4. 4: Knows what she wants to be

**Disclaimer: all of the HP goodness belongs to JKR and the lyrics belong to Sting/Police.**

**Okay, so I am quickly running out of time for this fic…I wanted to have this chapter up yesterday, but it just did not want to cooperate.**

**As it is, I am not that pleased with this, but it is what it is.**

**And I think that I am shooting for all the Remus/Hermione clichés I can…not on purpose, really, it's just turning out that way…so just bear with it.**

**Just so you know, I think it took me longer to find a damn song to go with this chapter than it did to write this…and look what I came up with…pitiful, really. I just couldn't come up with anything better…if you can, I will gladly change it.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

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_**Young teacher, the subject  
Of schoolgirl fantasy**__**  
She wants him so badly**__**  
Knows what she wants to be.**_

_**-Don't Stand So Close to Me by Sting/Police**_

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**Chapter Four**

**Knows what she wants to be….**

"Lemon drop, Remus?" Albus Dumbledore asked as Remus sat in the chair in front of his desk.

"No, thank you. You are going to rot your teeth out one day, you do know that," Remus replied, his gray eyes sparkling.

"You are missing out, my boy. Besides, I have a very good friend whose muggle wife is a dentist," Albus said. "It is amazing what muggles manage to do without magic."

"Right," Remus chuckled at the child-like wonder in the old man's voice.

Albus looked past Remus thoughtfully for a few moments before he drew himself back to the moment.

"How are you doing, Remus?"

Remus looked at the Headmaster in confusion for a moment causing Albus to elaborate.

"The full moon was just two days ago, was it not?"

A look of comprehension passed over Remus' features quickly before the younger man cleared his throat and replied.

"Ah, yes, the full moon was two days ago, and I am fine," Remus answered.

"Good to hear, good to hear," Albus said vaguely before fixing Remus with a curious look. "Severus is no longer brewing the Wolfsbane Potion for you, is that correct?"

"Yes, that is correct," Remus replied without expanding. He wasn't sure what exactly the Headmaster was alluding to and he was certainly not going to make it easy for the old man.

"Miss Granger is now brewing your monthly supply, as I understand it."

"Ah, yes, Miss Granger is now brewing the potion for me."

"And how is that working out?" Albus asked.

"It is working out fine," Remus answered. Without waiting for Albus to ask another question, he added, "What is it that you really want to know, Albus?"

The twinkle in the old man's eyes seemed to increase as he let out a chuckle.

"Ah, I guess that I am not as subtle as I used to be. Blame it on old age. I was merely going to mention that you and Miss Granger seem to be spending more time than usual together and I am slightly curious as to why that might be."

_I should have seen that coming_, Remus thought. _That man and his damn twinkle notice entirely too much, nothing is sacred in this castle_.

Thinking fast, Remus came up with a legitimate excuse. He just hoped that the Headmaster would buy it.

"I have asked Hermione to help me with some class-related things when she expressed interest in becoming a professor following graduation," Remus said as earnestly as he could.

_Are omission and exaggeration really considered lying?_

_I have asked her to help me with marking papers a few times, and she did mention a few weeks ago that she wanted to be a professor, so those parts are true…_

"Miss Granger would like to become a professor when she leaves Hogwarts?" Albus asked in wonder.

"Yes. She told me that she has been thinking about it for a while and only recently decided that was what she truly wanted to do with her life."

"Interesting," Albus looked thoughtful again. "Why don't we make this official? Miss Granger will be your assistant and she can help you with your first and second year classes."

Remus tried not to appear surprised at this turn of events.

"I will speak to Minerva about slimming down Miss Granger's course load. You will submit weekly progress reports and she will receive credit for this, of course," Albus said, obviously pleased with himself for coming up with the idea.

Remus continued to watch the Headmaster as the old man rattled off a list of things that Remus would need to instruct and coach Hermione on. He found it amusing that not only did the Headmaster buy his excuse, but now the old coot wanted to make it official.

He only hoped that Hermione actually wanted to do this. It would mean more work for her, and, of course, more time spent with him.

_Perhaps this isn't the best idea, _Remus thought. _Too late now, I guess. Albus seems to be set on having Hermione become my official 'assistant'. _

Remus was drawn from his thoughts as the Headmaster ended their talk and escorted Remus to the door. Remus had no idea what Albus had been saying for the past few minutes and he sincerely hoped that, whatever it was, it wasn't important.

As he made his way back to his office to prepare for his first class of the day, Remus let his mind drift.

_Being near her constantly will be wonderful and torturous…_

_Let's just hope that you can control yourself long enough to get through the first and second year classes. Don't want to scare the children by acting on your desires for your assistant, do you?_ Remus silently asked the wolf as he let his thoughts drift back to the full moon that just passed.

They spent the afternoon, on the eve of the full moon, together sharing wonderful conversation and eating a delicious dinner. Neither one of them wanted the moon to rise and break the ease they felt in each others company.

But the moon appeared too soon for either of them and, as wolves, they could feel the sexual tension more strongly than they did as humans. Or maybe as wolves they were incapable of denying that the desire and tension was there.

The wolves felt restless but contented themselves with lying in front of the fire, cuddled up to one another.

In the morning, the tension filled the air as Hermione and Remus awoke next to one another, naked once again. They each resisted the urge to let their eyes travel over the other's body as they laid there trying to shake the ill feeling that followed the full moon.

Hermione remembered to shed her clothes before transforming the night before, so she dressed quickly and bid farewell to Remus before he even sat up.

It was certainly awkward, but he knew that by the evening, Hermione would visit and they would act as if they had not seen each other in all their glory only hours before. It was their unspoken agreement to not speak of 'the mornings after'.

Sure enough, Hermione stopped by his office after dinner and everything was back to normal.

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"Where have you been hiding lately, Miss Head Girl?" Ginny asked from her perch on the large bed.

The two girls had been chatting about Ginny's hush-hush relationship with Draco while Hermione got ready for classes, but, apparently, Ginny wanted to change the subject.

"Er, I haven't been hiding anywhere," Hermione answered, ducking her head as she tried not to blush.

"Right, so where have you been when you are not in the Gryffindor common room, the library, the Great Hall, the Quidditch pitch, or here?" Ginny pressed.

"I, um, have been helping Professor Lupin with his marking and such, and I have started brewing the Wolfsbane Potion so that Snape won't have to anymore," Hermione answered honestly.

"Why are you helping Professor Lupin so much? Did he ask you to be his assistant or something?"

Hermione's brain quickly worked to find an excuse before she realized that Ginny unknowingly handed her one.

"Actually, he did. We are still in the process of working out the details, but I am his new assistant," Hermione lied through her teeth.

_I hope that Remus is okay with that…I will have to talk to him today after class, see if we can actually work something like that out._

"That's neat. Maybe I will ask Professor Lupin if I can do something like that next year," Ginny said.

Hermione tried to ignore the spark of jealousy that she felt, but something must have shown on her face because Ginny cocked her head to the side and looked at Hermione curiously.

"Does someone have a crush on the DADA professor?"

"Oh, grow up, you silly little school girl," Hermione laughed and threw her brush at Ginny.

Ginny's question was too close to the truth and Hermione wanted nothing more than to play it off as nothing. She didn't know if she was succeeding, so she figured that it was time to leave.

"Come on Gin, we have to leave now if we want to have any breakfast before the food is all gone."

The two girls made their way out the door, through the corridors, and down the many moving staircases.

As they waited for a particularly slow moving staircase to return, Ginny turned to Hermione.

"Where were you the other night? I stopped by just before curfew and your room was empty."

Hermione froze for a second.

"Didn't we just go through this?"

"Yes, but this was really late, so you should have been back by then. I was just curious, is all; you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Hermione felt like she had to say something. If she refused, it would just arouse suspicion and she certainly did not need that.

"What night was this?" Hermione asked.

"Two nights ago."

Hermione had been with Remus most evenings until near curfew, but two nights ago was the full moon. Hopefully Ginny wouldn't realize that – it would only lead to more questions.

"I was working with Professor Lupin until late, then I dashed over to the library to do some research for a potions assignment. I didn't get back until an hour or two after curfew," Hermione lied.

_This lying thing is becoming annoying…one lie is never enough; you always have to follow it with another and another…_

"Oh," was all Ginny said.

The pair remained silent as they continued their journey once the staircase returned.

They were just around the corner from the Great Hall when Ginny stopped abruptly. Hermione walked a few steps alone before she noticed that Ginny was not beside her. She turned to find her friend's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Two nights ago was the full moon, 'Mione," Ginny said quietly. "You couldn't have been working with Professor Lupin."

Hermione glanced about nervously, making sure that no one else was listening.

"You are right; it was the full moon two nights ago. But I was working with Remus up until the moon came out, then I stayed with him for a while working on papers and whatnot."

Ginny watched Hermione as she spoke. She wasn't entirely convinced that Hermione was telling her the truth, but she knew that badgering her about it would certainly not help.

No, she would just have to accept that answer for now.

The girls walked into the Great Hall and took the open seats at the Gryffindor table. Hermione sat in between Ron and Neville while Ginny sat next to Harry, directly across from Hermione.

Ginny continued to watch Hermione while they ate their breakfast…she knew something was up, she just didn't know what.

Ginny thought about it while she pretended to listen to her brother and Harry talk about Quidditch. Hermione had been acting differently for two months – she didn't spend much time with them anymore, she was always tired, pale, she barely ate, she was losing weight and spending a lot of time with Professor Lupin…

Ginny tried to figure out exactly when it was that Hermione changed…it was about two months ago, the day after she had to go out to the forest to collect fresh ingredients for a potions project.

Ginny remembered that night because she was supposed to meet Draco at the Room of Requirements, but when Hermione told her about going to the forest alone near midnight, she was going to blow Draco off and help her friend.

Hermione declined Ginny's offer to join her, and Ginny had a feeling that she should really not let Hermione go alone. She was going to tell the boys to help Hermione but they were nowhere to be found, so Ginny reluctantly let Hermione leave on her own.

_What was it about that night that caused Hermione to act so differently now?_

Ginny's gaze focused back on Hermione just in time to see her glance up at the Head Table. Ginny followed her gaze and saw Professor Lupin sitting there with a shy smile on his face as he looked down at his plate.

_Professor Lupin…wait a second…the night Hermione went to the forest alone was during the full moon_, Ginny now remembered that she heard Professor Lupin talking to the Headmaster about it in the corridor after classes that day.

_Oh Merlin._

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"Before you leave, I have your essays to hand back," Professor Lupin said as he picked up the pile of essays. "I am pleased to say that you all did extremely well."

Remus quickly passed out the marked essays so that the students could leave their last class of the day. He held Hermione's essay until almost last.

Hermione glanced at her essay, expecting to see only a grade and some congratulatory comment. She was surprised to find a short note written at the bottom of the parchment, requesting her to meet Remus in his office after class.

"Are you coming, Hermione?" Harry asked as he and Ron stood waiting for her.

Hermione nodded as she hastily shoved the essay in her bag, packed up her supplies, hoisted her bag onto her shoulder, and followed her friends out of the classroom.

Harry and Ron were discussing the upcoming Hogsmeade trip. Apparently, Harry wanted to ask Ginny to go with him, but she has been unreceptive to his advances lately. Hermione knew why, but she was sworn to secrecy, so was not going to tell him. Ron asked Luna to be his 'date' last week and she said yes, of course.

Neither of them asked Hermione who she might be going with, or if she was going at all.

Hermione wasn't too bothered over it; in fact, she used it to her advantage and slipped off to return to the DADA classroom and Remus' office without either of the boys noticing.

Hermione entered the empty classroom and made her way to the door to Remus' office. It was shut, so she knocked softly three times and waited for Remus to let her in.

Remus opened the door and smiled at Hermione.

"I see that you noticed my note," he said as he ushered her in to the room.

"Yes, it took me only a few minutes to shake off my bodyguards," Hermione replied with a smile.

"Ah, yes, Ron and Harry are quite protective of you," Remus said, a hint of jealousy laced his voice that he hoped Hermione wouldn't notice.

She didn't.

"But they don't know what to do with me anymore," Hermione said. "It's really hard to tolerate their over-protectiveness and their constant need to know where I am all the time. I've lashed out at them quite a bit lately."

Remus considered what Hermione said for a moment before speaking.

"Have you told them yet?"

It sounded like a vague question, but Hermione knew exactly what he was asking.

"No, I haven't. I just can't bring myself too," Hermione shook her head shamefully. "And part of me is angry that they haven't noticed that anything's different. They are my best friends; they should be the first to notice!"

Hermione was starting to get upset, so Remus pulled her into a hug.

He reveled in holding her close, breathing in the soft scent of her hair, her essence. He had to mentally shake himself to focus on what they were talking about.

"You must remember that they are boys, Mione. They don't notice things that others might," Remus explained. "And you have been pushing them away for two months, so they probably wouldn't notice the small signs when you don't spend nearly as much time with them."

Hermione knew that Remus was right. Ron and Harry couldn't possibly notice things that she wouldn't let them see.

She didn't want to let him go, though, so she pretended to sniffle some more and snuggled deeper into his embrace.

After a few more minutes, Remus ran his hand over her hair before tilting her chin up with his fingers.

"Are you okay now?" Remus asked softly.

Hermione stared into his gray eyes and smiled sadly, knowing that they would have to break the contact between their bodies.

"Yes, I'm okay."

Hermione went to step back reluctantly, but she stopped when Remus ran two fingers down the side of her face. The action was so tender that Hermione sighed and leant into it.

Gray eyes locked with brown as the two of them became mesmerized by each other. Their eyes remained locked as each body seemed to unconsciously lean in towards the other.

Their lips were just about to touch when a knock sounded on the door. Remus and Hermione sprang apart and stared at the door.

Remus smiled nervously at Hermione and pointed toward the chair in front of his desk before he turned and went to answer the door.

_Whoever this is, it bloody well better be important! _

_I was so close to kissing Hermione…damn._

Expecting a student with a question about their homework, Remus had to mask his surprise when he opened the door to face…

"Albus, what brings you down here this evening?"

Remus stepped back to allow the Headmaster into the room.

"Evening, Remus. I just came down to congratulate Miss Granger on her new official position," Albus said, his blue eyes sparkling wildly as he glanced to where Hermione was sitting in front of Remus' desk. "I figured that you two would be down here hard at work planning lessons and going over everything."

_Oh shit. After Hermione got upset over Harry and Ron, I forgot all about telling her the news. _

_It's no wonder that I was distracted…I just nearly kissed a student, but not just any student…no, a student who happens to be the Head Girl and my new assistant. I am so going to get fired._

Hermione was doing a fine job of not showing her confusion or surprise…even though she did not have the slightest inclination as to what the hell the Headmaster was talking about.

She just smiled up at him as he spoke. She didn't dare glance at Remus, for fear of what she might find hidden in his eyes. She nearly kissed the man, who happened to be her professor, not more than two minutes ago, and now the bloody Headmaster was here spouting nonsense.

"Congratulations, Miss Granger!" Albus said cheerfully. "I was pleased to hear that you had an interest in teaching, and I know that you will do wonderfully as Remus' assistant."

Hermione had to make a conscious effort not to fall out of her chair at what she thought she heard the Headmaster say. She merely nodded her thanks with her smile still plastered on her face. She sincerely hoped that her surprise did not show on her face.

_This is just too surreal…a lie I told to my best girl friend not more than 8 hours ago just became the truth…this is just too weird. _

"Professor McGonagall will meet with you before class tomorrow morning to discuss the changes to your schedule and to answer any questions that you may have," Albus said pleasantly. "I won't keep you two from your work any longer. Have a wonderful evening."

Remus walked the Headmaster to the door and shut it after the old man left. He stood facing the door for a minute before he turned back to look at Hermione.

She was looking thoroughly confused…something he never saw before and he found it oddly appealing.

"I'm sorry about that, Mione," Remus said as he walked over to his desk.

He took a seat behind his desk and continued to watch Hermione.

"What was that all about?" Hermione asked. Her voice was barely above a whisper, as if she was asking herself more than him.

"I had a meeting with the Headmaster this morning. He mentioned noticing us spending more time together than was normal and he seemed to want to know why," Remus explained. "I told him the first thing I could think of…"

"Which was that I was helping you with marking papers and such?"

"Yes. I told him that you expressed an interest in teaching and that I offered to let you help me so that you could see what it was like. He loved the idea and wanted to make it 'official', hence the whole assistant thing and having to change your schedule."

Remus paused a minute before continuing, his voice getting softer and more quiet as he went on. "If you don't want to go through with it, you don't have to. I understand if you don't want to switch around your schedule to help me."

Hermione looked at him for a moment, wondering why he would think that she wouldn't want to do this.

"Of course I want to do this, Remus! It would be a great experience," she said earnestly, adding more shyly, "and I would get to spend more time with you. And I should tell you that I told the same exact thing to Ginny this morning that you told the Headmaster, so maybe this is meant to be."

Remus smiled despite himself.

Albus had no idea what he was encouraging by making this assistant thing official…or maybe he did.

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"Congratulations, Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall said, her thin lips curved up in a smile.

Hermione smiled back at her second-favorite professor.

"I had no idea that you were interested in becoming a professor, dear. I would have suggested something like this sooner had I known."

Hermione inwardly winced at the tone in her professor's voice. She would have told Professor McGonagall if she had realized it was what she really wanted before she told Remus.

Nothing she could do about it now, though.

"I rearranged your schedule so that you have free periods during Professor Lupin's first- and second-year classes. All I had to do was eliminate Muggle Studies, History of Magic, and Care of Magical Creatures since you already had one free period. Your other classes will remain the same."

Hermione listened carefully as Professor McGonagall explained the details of how her performance would be evaluated, the credits she would receive, and how to deal with any problems that she encountered. She was surprised that she didn't feel too bothered about losing a few of her classes.

The more she listened, the more she was looking forward to this assistant-ship. Not only would she be allowed to spend copious amounts of time with Remus, but she would be learning something new and useful and she always loved a challenge.

"Professor Lupin will go over with you what he expects you to learn before you conduct your first lesson on your own. He will also determine how much time you will spend every evening marking papers and planning lessons. I believe you have a meeting with him tonight, is that correct."

Hermione nodded.

"If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to come to me, Miss Granger. I know you will do a wonderful job at this," Professor McGonagall said proudly. "Now you better hurry down to the Great Hall if you wish to have breakfast before your first class."

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said as she gathered her bag and left her professor's office.

_So I am officially Professor Lupin's teacher's assistant…this is definitely going to be interesting, and very fun._

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**So, what did you think?**

**Not only is Hermione a werewolf, now she is going to be Remus' teachers assistant…it is totally cliché, but I just couldn't help it…**

**I am going to work on the next chapter tomorrow…if I'm productive, or just lucky, I will have it posted sometime in the evening.**


	5. 5: That pivotal moment

**Disclaimer: You know the drill…anything HP equals JKR, lyrics as sung by Faith Hill.**

**Well, I am glad that most people seem to think that this is not too cliché…it is to an extent, but then again, all fan fiction becomes cliché after awhile…as Believer87 mentioned, time travel fics are the most clichéd, but that doesn't stop anyone from writing them…good thing too, because some of them are VERY good!**

**Anyway, I had something else that I wanted to say, but I can't remember what the heck it was…oh well; I won't waste time trying to think of whatever it was. If it turns out to be important, I will repost or something…**

**Thank you for all the many wonderful reviews! I treasure them, so keep 'em coming! **

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_**It's centrifugal motion  
It's perpetual bliss**__**  
It's that pivotal moment**__**  
It's, ah unthinkable**_

_**-This Kiss by Faith Hill**_

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**Chapter Five**

**That pivotal moment**

"You seem to have a good grasp on how this works," Remus said as he leaned back from the desk. "What do you think about teaching the first-years on Monday?"

In the last week, Hermione learned all she could about lesson plans, controlling students, keeping them interesting, the grading system, and just about anything else Remus could think of to teach her.

She was like a sponge, soaking it all up. He was really proud to see how she took to the challenge.

It was only little more than a week since they found out that she would be his teacher's assistant, and here she was; ready to teach her first class.

"Ah, are sure that I am ready?" Hermione asked nervously.

She was really excited but completely nervous at the idea of teaching her first class. It just seemed to be happening so quickly.

"I think you are ready. You know this stuff inside and out, Mione," Remus smiled at her as he reached out and squeezed her hand. "Besides, I will be right there in case you have any problems or questions."

Hermione smiled back at him, but more for the fact that he was still squeezing her hand than for trying to encourage her.

"Well, if you think I'm ready, then I must be."

Remus chuckled, and then blushed as he looked down to see his hand still clasping Hermione's. He cleared his throat and gently pulled his hand back from Hermione's. He looked up just in time to see the brief look of disappointment that clouded Hermione's eyes before she blinked it away.

"We've been working for hours on a Friday evening, what do you say we retire by the fire and have some tea," Remus suggested.

"I would like that," Hermione said. _I would like it better if you would kiss me already_, she added silently.

Working together every evening and observing him during first- and second-year classes after nearly kissing over a week ago was difficult for the Head Girl. That one moment just before Professor Dumbledore interrupted occupied her thoughts constantly.

And she wanted nothing more than to get that moment back and finish what they almost started. But they had a lot work to do in the past week and another opportunity had yet to present itself.

It was strange, but ever since the second full moon that they spent together, she wasn't nearly as concerned over her feelings for her professor anymore. Somehow she knew that he returned those feelings, even if he wasn't exactly willing to act on them yet – she wasn't quite sure if he was or not – and that was enough for her to stop trying to deny what she felt.

She decided to just let nature takes its course, as it tended to do anyway.

Remus stood up and led the way over to the chairs by the fire, stopping briefly to conjure two cups and some tea. He handed Hermione one cup and kept one for himself as he sat down.

They fell into an easy conversation as they sipped from their steaming cups, the talk mostly consisting of Hermione's classes and such. Once that line of conversation was exhausted, Remus moved on to something that still concerned him.

"How are things with Harry and Ron?"

Hermione looked at him sadly before answering.

"Still the same. They haven't noticed anything other than the fact that I am busier than usual and I am still too scared to tell them the truth."

Remus felt for her, she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He could relate completely, but that didn't really change what needed to be done.

"You are going to have to tell them sometime, Mione," Remus reasoned. He was aware that she knew this already, but he felt the need to remind her. "The longer you wait, the harder it will be, on you and on them. You have to keep in mind that they are your best friends, they love you for you, no matter whom, or in this case, what you might be."

Hermione studied him for a moment as she considered his advice. She knew that he was right; he's been through it before so he would know. But that didn't make it any easier for her.

"I know. It's just easier to avoid the situation than it is to deal with it," Hermione said softly, "especially when I have you to come to with all of my concerns. You understand better than anyone else ever could."

"Yes, that comes with the territory, I'm afraid," Remus smiled.

Hermione looked into the fire thoughtfully for a few minutes before she turned to face Remus again.

"I think Ginny has figured it out," Hermione blurted out. "I mean, she hasn't said outright that she knows, but she just seemed to asked the questions that someone as perceptive as her would ask when they were on the trail to figuring it out."

Remus swirled the remaining tea in his cup as he considered Hermione's revelation. Ginny Weasley was more intelligent and perceptive than a lot of people gave her credit for. If anyone were to figure Hermione's condition out on his or her own, it would be Ginny.

_She is also an accepting and caring friend, which is precisely what Hermione needs right now…surely Ginny would not push Hermione away for what she was now against her own will?_

"Perhaps you should talk to her," Remus advised. "Ginny is a wonderful person, she wouldn't push you away in your time of need just because you are a werewolf now. She was raised better than that."

"I know, but again, I am so afraid of losing my friends over this," Hermione said worriedly. "Even though I know that they are all wonderful people in their own right, I can't help but be scared they won't accept me for what I've become."

Remus gulped down the rest of his tea and banished the cup before he stood up. He walked over to Hermione's chair and stood just to the side of her. He reached out and took the cup from Hermione's hands and set it down on the small table between the two chairs.

Hermione watched him carefully, all the while wondering what he was doing. She gave him a curious look when he reached out to take her left hand. His lips quirked up in a crooked smile and his eyes said all she needed to know…_trust me_.

She let him pull her up from her seat and sighed as he wrapped his arms around her. She snuggled into his embrace and turned her face toward his neck so that she could breath in the scent of him.

He smelled earthy, a crisp mix of man and nature…rain, trees, so clean and fresh. She would never forget that.

She lent in closer to his body in order to feel the rumble in his chest when he started to speak.

"You have to trust yourself to trust your friends, Mione. They will be there for you through thick and thin, and if, for some reason, they are not, then they are not worthy of being considered your friends."

Hermione nodded her head against his body, not wanting to lift her head to speak.

"And if that is the case, I will be here for you to trust and lean on," Remus said with a slight hitch in his voice.

This was dangerous territory for him…he was seconds away from breaking that cardinal rule regarding teacher/student relationships, and yet, he couldn't bring himself to care enough to prevent what he was about to do.

Hermione was touched at his words and she lifted her head to look in his eyes. She stared into his beautiful gray orbs and she saw things there that thrilled and frightened her at the same time.

His eyes held care, concern, trust, fear, desire, and other things that she couldn't quite put a name to. She was quickly becoming lost in those eyes and the things she saw, so she shook herself mentally to clear the fog of her mind.

She wanted to thank him before she was completely lost in the moment.

"Thank you, Remus," she breathed and quickly closed her eyes as Remus bent his head down to hers.

Their lips brushed together so softly that Hermione wasn't sure if they actually touched. Before she could question it though, Remus' lips pressed against hers more firmly.

They stayed in a lip-lock for a few seconds before Hermione let her tongue dart out and brazenly run along Remus' bottom lip. She smiled slightly when Remus groaned and parted his lips to let his own tongue dart out to meet Hermione's.

The kiss was deepened as the two lycanthropes explored each other's mouths.

Remus let his hands stray on Hermione's body and finally left one to tangle in the curls at the base of Hermione's neck, and let the other slide slowly under the hem of her shirt.

He moved slowly to allow Hermione time to stop him if it was not what she wanted. When she made no move to shoo his hand away, he gently slid his fingers over the skin of her tummy and around to her lower back. The softness of her skin made him moan and pull her even closer.

The feel of her breast pressed up against him made him ache to touch them. He moved his hand from her back to gently caress them one at a time through the lacy bra that she was wearing, eliciting sweet moans from her throat.

He wanted so badly to rip her clothes off, but knew that he had to tread carefully here. If he moved too fast, he might scare her away.

Hermione was surprised at the softness of his lips and the gentle passion of his kisses. She was delighted to be kissing Remus, finally, and it didn't even occur to her to stop him when his hand slipped under her shirt.

She just wanted to be close to him and his touch on her skin was sending wonderful little shivers all over her body that caused her to pull him closer.

She took her cue from his wandering hand and let her hands run through his hair before she settled one deep in the hair on the back of his head. She let her other hand slide over his shoulder and down his bicep before she slid it back up and down the one side of his chest.

She wanted to slide her hand over his bare skin, but he was wearing too much clothing, he had on a button-down shirt tucked into his trousers and a jumper over that. She decided to just run her hand down the skin on the side of his face and neck, eliciting a low growl from Remus.

She could feel his arousal pressed up against her hip as he held her close. She moved against him experimentally, causing Remus to growl. The hand tangled in her hair moved to her hip, then around to her bum as Remus pulled her even closer against his hardness.

Remus broke the kiss long even to whisper hoarsely, "Oh Gods Mione, see what you do to me?"

This was all new to her, so Hermione was thrilled and frightened at the knowledge of the effect she had on him.

They continued on in this manner for a while, both wanting to move faster, yet both scared of doing so. They finally reached that point where they had to stop or just take it to the next step when a knock sounded on the door to Remus' office.

Remus reluctantly tore his lips from Hermione's and gently knocked his forehead against hers.

"What now?" He growled quietly.

He looked sadly at Hermione and turned to answer the door, trying to compose himself on the way. He sincerely hoped that he did not look as flustered as he felt.

He just snogged the bloody hell out of a student, so he could only imagine how ruffled he looked.

He reached the door and took a calming breath before he opened it.

Remus didn't know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't Ginny Weasley.

_Oh well, better than it being Albus Dumbledore_, Remus thought ruefully.

"Good evening, Miss Weasley. What can I do for you?" Remus asked pleasantly, though he did not feel half as pleasant as he sounded.

What he wanted to say was, _Would you mind terribly, if I asked you to come back in a few hours, after I have sufficiently shagged your best friend_. But, somehow, he refrained from doing so.

"Evening, Professor Lupin. I was looking for Hermione, sir, and I figured that she might still be here," Ginny answered somewhat nervously.

"Ah, yes, Miss Granger is still here. We were just finishing up our work for the night, so she is free to go in a minute," Remus said to the redhead.

"Okay. Can you just tell her that I will be waiting in the hallway?"

"Certainly. Good night, Miss Weasley," he replied and tried not to slam the door in his hurry to get back to Hermione.

"Looks like our night has come to an end," Hermione said, half-disappointed and half-relieved.

_I was only minutes from losing all coherent thought and shagging my professor. Oh, Merlin, am I on the path straight to Hades, or what? I wonder if they have early admission spaces for infractions like shagging your professor?_

Hermione was jarred from her amusing thoughts when Remus bent his head down for a chaste kiss.

"Unfortunately, yes. Perhaps you can stop by tomorrow sometime?" Remus asked hopefully.

Hermione opened her mouth to answer when Remus cut her off.

"Unless you have things to do and are busy all day," he blurted out.

Apparently he thought that she was going to say no. Hermione smiled and cupped the side of his face in her slender hand.

"Of course I will come see you tomorrow. Ginny and the boys have Quidditch practice in the afternoon, so I will meet you down here then."

Remus nodded happily and kissed her forehead.

"You better go before Ginny gets impatient or suspicious."

Hermione nodded and gathered her stuff, she made her way toward the door and stopped once she reached it. She turned back to look at Remus before she opened the door, he was standing there with a wistful look on his face as he watched her. She smiled and left him staring after her.

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"How is your assistant thing going?" Ginny asked in an effort to make conversation as she and Hermione made their way back to the Head Girl's rooms.

She saw how ruffled Professor Lupin looked, so she could only imagine how well it was going…but she certainly wasn't going to say anything. Not yet, at least. She had other things to worry about for now.

"It's challenging and fun," Hermione answered. "He wants me to teach the first-years on Monday. I'm really nervous, but looking forward to it all the same."

"That's awesome! Too bad you can't teach the sixth-year classes."

Hermione laughed at her friend as they walked up the stairs leading to the portrait to Hermione's chambers.

Once the girls were inside, Hermione turned to her friend, a searching look visible in her brown eyes.

"What is so important that you had to come down to Professor Lupin's office to get me?"

Ginny hesitated a moment, as if she was re-thinking her decision to talk to Hermione about whatever it was she had on her mind.

"I, um, needed to, um, ask you something, and, um, I knew that if I waited, I would, um, not ask it," Ginny stuttered.

Her nervousness made it obvious to Hermione what it was she wanted to discuss.

"Okay then, ask away," Hermione stated with more confidence than she felt.

"Right, where do I begin…" Ginny said as she wrung her hands and sat down on Hermione's bed.

Hermione watched her friend with nervous apprehension. She knew what was coming and was powerless to stop it.

_Just remember what Remus said. This is Ginny; she is one of your best friends. She is here because she cares_. Hermione knew that it was true, but she still had to convince herself to believe it.

"What happened to you the night you went out to the Forbidden Forest to collect fresh potions ingredients?" Ginny asked bluntly.

Ginny went with the old 'when in doubt about where to start, get right to the point' idea, and it worked.

_This is the point of no return, you can either tell the truth and face whatever comes your way, or you can lie through your teeth and hope for the best_, Hermione thought.

"You can't tell anyone what I am about to say, okay Gin?"

"Of course, Mione," Ginny said with complete sincerity.

As far as she was concerned, the look on Hermione's face and the words she just spoke confirmed her suspicions anyway; she certainly wasn't going to betray her friend's trust.

"I was bitten by a werewolf that night, Ginny," Hermione squeaked as tears pooled in her eyes.

"Oh Merlin, Mione," Ginny whispered as she moved next to Hermione and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"It was so painful and terrifying. I was so stupid to go out there alone and without my wand," Hermione said, angry tears flowing down her face.

"You went without your wand? What the hell did you do that for?" Ginny asked surprised.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Hermione shouted.

"I know, Hermione, I'm sorry. Why didn't you tell anyone? It's been two months!" Ginny was hurt that Hermione didn't come to her when it first happened, or anytime in the past two months, for that matter.

"I was scared of what you would think," Hermione answered honestly. "I didn't tell anyone, I couldn't. Re-…Professor Lupin discovered it almost immediately. He said 'it takes one to know one' and he wanted to help me handle it."

Hermione hoped that Ginny missed her slip…she tried to gauge Ginny's reaction, but the look on her face revealed nothing but concern, so she forgot about it.

Ginny figured that Professor Lupin knew since he and Hermione spent so much time together…and she caught the little slip Hermione made too, but she wasn't going to say anything about it, yet. One shocking revelation per night was enough.

"So the boys haven't figured it out yet, I guess," it was a statement more than a question, but Hermione still nodded in affirmation. "I'm not surprised, those too can be so bloody oblivious it's ridiculous."

Hermione chuckled through the tears still sliding down her face.

"When are you going to tell them?" Ginny asked, adding after a moment, "You are going to tell them, right?"

"Yes, I am going to tell them. They deserve to know that their best friend now becomes a dangerous beast once a month," Hermione said bitterly.

Ginny did not bother to restrain herself from laughing.

"Oh, Mione, all girls turn into dangerous beasts once a month. You just happen to turn into a hairy beast that just happens to be a little more dangerous than the rest of us. The boys won't notice any difference," Ginny said with a dismissive wave before both she and Hermione broke down in laughter.

That was exactly what she was shooting for, too.

The two girls continued to talk for a few hours, with Ginny re-affirming her acceptance and support every once in a while.

Hermione felt relieved to know that Ginny didn't think any less of her now. It felt truly wonderful to have another person on her side knowing her secret. She just hoped that everyone else would be just as understanding.

After Ginny left, Hermione decided that first thing tomorrow, she would go see Professor Dumbledore and tell him what happened that night. She should have told him sooner, if for no other reason than for the safety of the other students.

Then she would figure out when and how to tell the boys, her parents, and anyone else that would really need to know, such as the Weasleys.

She didn't know how everyone would react, but it was time to face the consequences of her actions. She could not hide such a big secret forever. As if being a werewolf wasn't exhausting enough, hiding it from everyone and their mother was far too draining.

She fell asleep that night feeling much lighter now that she unloaded part of her burden, and having vivid dreams of a certain werewolf professor made for a very good night's sleep.

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**There you go…some nice Remus/Hermione goodness to make up for their little interruption last chapter…hope you enjoyed it!**

**Hope to have the next chapter up by Tuesday evening…**


	6. 6: Steal your pain away

**Disclaimer: the usual thing applies….**

**Okay…so I remembered, or rather I was reminded, of what it was that I wanted to say in my author notes last chapter – bookluvr4life gave me some great ideas and a few good lines that I forgot to give her credit for…actually, it was quite a few things, so I am not going to sit here and name them all. I'll just say that part of it was the wolves having a keener sense of the tension between Remus and Hermione and the fact that Ginny is more perceptive than many realize were two of the most important things.**

**Anyway, I just found out yesterday that the deadline for this challenge was changed…and I just forgot the new deadline…February 12th or 13th, something like that. Hopefully, it won't take me that long to finish this, since I really do want to get back to my other stories.**

**This chapter started out how I planned, but after that, it kind of got a mind of its own…I totally was not planning on the middle part happening, but that is what wanted to be written. I tried to change it, but the story knows where it wants to go and it will not let me interfere…that's what I mean about 'a mind of its own'…**

**Well, I hope that you like the route it decided to take…**

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_**I wanted you to know  
I love the way you laugh**__**  
I wanna hold you high**__**  
And steal your pain away**_

_**-Broken by Seether featuring Amy Lee**_

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**Chapter 6**

**Steal your pain away…**

""Whatchamacallit."

Hermione just shook in her head in wonder as she watched the gargoyles move aside.

_The Headmaster will never cease to amaze me when it comes to his candy fetish…and as if there were not enough wizarding candies to choose from, now he's moved on to muggle candy bars,_ the Head Girl mused as she stepped onto the moving staircase.

She was dreading this meeting with the Headmaster. Not because she was afraid he would turn her away, she knew he wouldn't. He didn't turn Remus away, after all. No, she was more concerned about how disappointed he would be in the fact that she hid it from him, from everyone, for two months.

It was certainly not her most responsible decision, but she hoped that he would not be too disappointed. His approval was entirely too important to her, she couldn't bear to lose it now.

She wasn't sure what she expected him so say, she just wished upon everything she could think of that it would not be the worst case scenario that she had running through her mind this morning while she picked at her breakfast.

_Only one way to find out what he will say…_

Hermione took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she stood in front of the door to the Headmasters office and raised her hand to knock.

She jumped back in surprise when the door opened before her knuckles even made contact with the dark wood.

"Welcome, Miss Granger," the Headmaster greeted her as he stepped back to allow her entry into his domain.

"Good morning, Professor," Hermione said nervously as she walked past him.

"Please have a seat, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said as he shut the door and made his way back to his desk.

Hermione did as she was told and sat in the chair closest to the Headmaster's large desk. She was so nervous, she stared at the mahogany desk with such intensity that she failed to notice the figure that leant back against the wall to her right.

Dumbledore smiled to the figure as he sat behind his desk and picked up a small bowl full of sweets. He held the bowl out to Hermione but she was too busy burning holes in his desk with her eyes to notice.

"Would you like a sweet Miss Granger or would you rather continue trying to set fire to my lovely desk with your eyes?"

Hermione started at the sound of the Headmaster's voice and barely managed to catch what he said. When she ran it through her head again, she couldn't help but blush at how childish she was being.

"A sweet would be wonderful, sir," she spoke softly in an effort to calm her nerves as she reached towards the bowl. Her hand stopped halfway as she looked up at the Headmaster and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "They're not from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, are they sir?"

The Headmaster's eyes twinkled madly and the figure against the wall chuckled quietly. Hermione's head snapped to the side when she realized that someone else was in the room with them.

Hermione's eyes widened and she tried not to beam at the other person present since she could feel the Headmaster watching her.

"Remus, have a seat, my boy. I don't think Miss Granger realized you were here, considering the startled expression on her face." Dumbledore smiled at the younger man as he watched the two stare at each other.

Remus tore his eyes away from Hermione when the Headmaster spoke and he nodded to the older man as he moved to the chair next to Hermione.

Hermione turned her attention back to the Headmaster once Remus was seated next to her, only to find that Dumbledore was still holding the bowl of sweets out to her.

_There's no way I am touching any of those sweets until he answers my question_, Hermione thought as she narrowed her eyes at the bowl.

Dumbledore shook his head and laughed at the look on Hermione's face. "I assure you, Miss Granger, none of these sweets are products of the Weasley twins. They are all muggle candies and they have not been charmed in any way, shape, or form."

Feeling moderately placated, Hermione selected a nice plain lemon drop so that they could get this little meeting moving. She popped the lemon drop in her mouth as she watched Remus wave off the Headmaster's efforts to get him to select a treat.

Dumbledore set the bowl back down on the desk and folded his hands in front of him on the desk. His blue eyes peered at Hermione through his half-moon spectacles as he spoke.

"Professor Lupin indicated that you have something that you would like to tell me, Miss Granger?"

Hermione nodded and glanced at Remus to see him smile at her in encouragement. She would have felt better if he would have held her hand or wrapped his arm around her, but with the Headmaster sitting right in front of them, she knew a soft smile was all she was likely to receive.

"Yes, sir," she started, then stopped to clear her throat and started again. "I wanted to tell you that…that I, oh merlin this is hard…I was out in the Forbidden Forest…alone…two months ago…um…"

Hermione tried to stutter through it, but it was painful, and not just to her.

Remus knew how hard it would be for her to tell Dumbledore, which is why he decided to be here when she came to tell him. He wanted to do something to make it easier for her.

But right now, he wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in his arms and ease away all her pain and take away that scared look on her face. He knew that he could not do that with Albus sitting right there, watching every more they made.

Instead, he reached out and gently rubbed Hermione's shoulder in the most 'concerned professor' manner he could manage and cleared his throat to speak.

"What Miss Granger is trying to say, sir," Remus' voice was hoarse as he spoke, "is that she was in the forest during the full moon and was subsequently attacked by a werewolf."

Remus flinched under the stern look Albus sent his way and it took a moment before Remus realized why Albus looked at him that way.

"It was not me, sir. I have been taking the Wolfsbane Potion consistently for many moons now."

Albus nodded and considered the information that was just revealed to him. After a few minutes of tense silence, in which Hermione thought her head might explode from nerves, Albus direct his gaze on the Head Girl.

"This is a terrible tragedy, Miss Granger. I am sorry that you had – have – to experience it," Albus spoke softly, but Hermione refused to look up to meet his sad eyes.

And Albus was beyond sad as he watched one of the brightest minds he's seen in years avoid is his eyes in shame. He knew that none of this was her fault…even if she was foolish enough to enter the forest at night, alone, during a full moon. No one deserved to go through this.

"Hermione," – her head shot up at the Headmaster's use of her first name – "why did you not come to me right after this happened?" Albus' voice was full of care and concern.

"I was afraid you would be angry and disappointed, sir," Hermione whispered as tears coursed down her pretty face.

She felt Remus squeeze her shoulder softly, and it was only then that she realized he did not remove his hand after he rubbed her shoulder earlier. That realization warmed her heart more than Remus could ever know.

"You ought to know better than that, Hermione," Albus said in a very grandfatherly way. "I could never be angry or disappointed in you for something like this. I understand that horrible accidents do happen, often times to the best of us. I am in no way angry or disappointed in you."

Hermione smiled through her tears as the Headmaster stood up and walked around his desk to stand in front of her and Remus.

"Have you told Harry, Ron, or your parents, Hermione?"

Hermione bowed her head as she answered, "No, sir."

"You know that you need to tell your friends as soon as you are ready, if not sooner. Knowing Harry and Ron as well as I do, I am sure they will not appreciate being kept in the dark for this long."

Hermione nodded at the truth of the Headmaster's words. There was no denying it, Harry and Ron will be furious with her for not telling them first, but they will just have to deal with it.

"Now, how to tell your parents," Albus said as he walked towards the door.

Remus took the cue that the meeting was just about over and stood up, reaching for Hermione's hand to help her up as he did so. He gave her hand a quick squeeze and dropped it before the Headmaster turned around to face them.

"I want you to owl your parents today and let them know that you will be coming home next weekend to see them. You need not break the news by owl, just let them know that you have something very important to discuss with them. Remus will join you as your escort, since he will be able to help explain things to your parents."

Albus turned to open the door and therefore missed the shocked look pass between the two lycanthropes as they took in what he just said. They seemed to have their shock under control by the time they made it to the door.

Albus smiled sadly at the pair as they stopped in front of him. Hermione leant in and gave him a warm hug in thanks for his understanding and Remus just nodded to the old man before they turned to leave the office.

Albus beamed when a thought suddenly struck him as he watched Hermione disappear down the moving staircase before Remus set foot on it.

"Now I understand why you and Miss Granger were really spending so much time together," Albus said, his blue eyes twinkling madly.

Remus looked back sharply at the old man and opened his mouth to speak, but Albus raised his hand to stop him from doing so.

"I think it was a wonderful thing that Hermione had someone to turn to, Remus. And look what good came of it."

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Hours later, Hermione entered the DADA classroom and stopped in front of the door to Remus' office. She knocked three times, like always, and waited until Remus let her in.

He seemed to be taking forever, so Hermione knocked another three times and waited, again. After several minutes, Hermione decided that either he was not there or he was busy sleeping or something.

Just as she turned and took a few steps to exit the classroom, the door to Remus' office opened.

"Mione?"

Hermione turned around to see Remus standing in his doorway with wet hair. He was buttoning the last buttons on his shirt before he tucked it into his jeans.

_Hmmm, he must have been in the shower when I first knocked_, Hermione thought.

"I was taking a shower. Were you out here long?"

She shook her head.

The clean scent of him was intoxicating, even from ten feet away. She could not wait to be close to him, to smell his fresh scent up close, and she practically flew at him.

Remus stumbled back into his office when Hermione's body collided with his, but he managed to keep both him and Hermione from falling over by wrapping both his arms around her waist. He cast a wandless spell to close the door before he leant down to capture her lips.

The kiss was soft and sweet, and ended entirely too soon for Hermione's liking. She let out a disgruntled sigh when Remus pulled back and she scowled when he chuckled at her.

"Calm down, love. There's no rush, we will continue in a few minutes," Remus said, still chuckling.

Hermione looked at him in wonder for a moment and Remus shot her a curious look before he asked, "What?"

"You called me 'love'," she breathed. It was not a big deal, really. People said it all the time, but with him it _was_ different. Remus never called her 'love' before, but now that he had, she did not want him to stop.

"Yes, I did," Remus smiled at the look on her face. It was a mix of happiness and bewilderment.

He knew that people used that term all the time, but he was never one to use it out of context. He was not even sure if he meant to use it just then, but he decided that it felt so right as it rolled off his tongue.

"I liked it," Hermione whispered as she pulled his head back down to crush her lips against his.

He felt a warm feeling swirl around his heart when Hermione said that she liked it and once his lips met hers, he deepened the kiss. She easily accepted his tongue in her mouth and moaned at the taste of him. _Chocolate_.

The kiss continued for a few minutes until they both pulled back to take a breath. Before Remus could clear the kiss-induced haze from his mind, he felt Hermione link her hand is his as she lead him through to his private chambers.

It was not until he landed on something soft that he realized Hermione led him into his bedroom and pushed him down on the bed. His eyes shot to her face to see the mischievous glint in her beautiful chocolate eyes as she straddled his thighs.

He groaned when he felt her fingers make quick work of the buttons on his shirt. A second later, he lost himself as she scraped her nails gently down his chest and stomach and finally stopped when she hit the top of his pants. He was getting hard and it was making it quite difficult to think through the haze of arousal.

He started when she went to undo his belt. The haze broke some and he was able to take stock of the situation. He didn't want things to happen this quickly.

"What are you doing?" Remus asked, though his voice held more lust than he intended.

"I am trying to undo your belt," Hermione said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it pretty much was.

He stilled her hands and pulled them away from his belt before he dropped his own hands to the bed.

"Why?" Remus inwardly smacked himself for being so…he did not even know what he was being. He knew why she was doing it. Hell, if he was honest with himself, he was feeling just as randy as she was right now. But the tiny part of him that did not want to rush this was fighting hard for control, and he was terrified of losing it.

"Because I thought we could play dress up…why the hell do you think I would be undoing your belt, Remus?" Hermione's voice rose toward the end and Remus flinched at her spiteful tone.

Hermione climbed off Remus once she realized that he was not even touching her and that he was obviously not as into the moment as she was. She stood there glaring at him, waiting for him so say _something_.

Remus sighed under Hermione's glare. Merlin knew he wanted her, badly, but it was just so soon…not for himself, but for her. He knew it would be her first time, he could sense it, and he did not want her to rush into it only to end up regretting what she had done.

And he was very worried that would happen if they were to have sex right now. He was terrified of just being a one-off for her. Over the past two months, Remus really began to care deeply for Hermione and he was truly terrified of messing things up.

After Ginny's interruption the night before, he knew that he did not want to spoil things by moving too fast, in case Hermione wasn't ready. As much as he wanted to jump her right now, he knew that he could not let it happen just yet.

"Are you going to say anything?"

Remus jumped at her spiteful tone and he realized that he had been lost in his thoughts and forgot all about speaking to her.

"Yes…I didn't mean to come off as I did…I know why you were doing what you were," Remus stumbled throw his explanation.

"Well, I'm very happy for you, Remus. You know why someone would try to get in your pants," Hermione spat. She was mortified that Remus just rejected her and she did not know how else to handle it, other than to snap at him.

She thought for sure that he wanted her as much as she wanted him, but perhaps she was wrong. Based on his reaction to her trying to undo his belt, it did not seem like he wanted her at all.

Remus sighed again as he ran a hand through his sandy brown hair. He could swear that he felt a few more gray hairs pop up in the last few minutes.

"Mione, you have no idea how much I want you. I want you so badly that it hurts, but I do not want you to rush into anything," Remus said as earnestly as he could. "I want you to be absolutely sure that this" – he gestured between them – "is what you truly want before we take that step. I just think that it is too soon for you, is all."

He was still sitting on the bed with his shirt undone. Hermione was standing a few feet in front of him, not meeting his eyes. He stood up and went to reach for her, but he stopped halfway through the action when she moved farther away from him.

_So he does want me, he just does not trust me to know whether I want him or not. Who would know what I want better than I do? Asshole. He's probably just worked up over the fact that I am still his student, technically. He should have thought of that before last night._

She looked up at him, her face a mask of calm indifference, but he could see the hurt and anger in her eyes.

"I know that I am still a _student_, but I am mature enough to make my own decisions, including whether or not I am ready to shag one of my _professors_," Hermione snapped.

Remus' eyes widened at the realization of her words. She thought he stopped her because he did not want to sleep with a student, which was true, to an extent. He did not want a student he wanted Hermione. The thought that she was still a student never even crossed his mind when he said that he did not want to rush things.

"Mione…"

"I have to go," Hermione said as she turned and fled his bedroom.

Remus let his head drop for a moment before he quickly followed her. "I did not mean for things to go like this," he called after her.

She stopped at the door leading back to the classroom and spoke without turning around. "I know. You just need to trust me to know what I want."

Remus continued walking toward her as he replied. "You're right, I'm sorry."

A second later he whispered, "Don't go."

She opened the door and left without looking back.

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Hermione tried to hold back the tears as she fled Remus' rooms and ran back to her own.

She wanted so badly to stay when Remus whispered for her not to go, but she felt like a fool. She was hurt that he did not trust her to know her own mind well enough to know that she was ready to be with him. She knew she was making a big deal of things by fleeing from him, but his rejection felt like a physical wound and she just had to leave.

She needed to think and she obviously could not think straight when she was near Remus. She would go back and work things out when she did not feel so hurt and rejected.

Right now, all Hermione wanted to do was take a nap and wake up with a new life.

_Why couldn't he just take the pain away for a little while?_

The day proved to be quite stressful, between confessing to the Headmaster and now this ridiculous thing with Remus, it was more than enough, and it was only two o'clock in the afternoon.

_What else can go wrong? _

As if in answer to her thoughts, Hermione walked down the corridor leading to her rooms only to find Harry, Ron, and Ginny standing in front of the portrait guarding her door. It looked as though Ron and Harry were arguing with the portrait while Ginny shook her head and tried to tell them to come back later.

Hermione really did not want to deal with the boys right now. Ginny she could handle, but not the boys.

Scrambling for a reason to flee the scene, she suddenly realized that she still did not send her parents the letter that she wrote after this morning's meeting with Dumbledore. She felt around in her pocket to make sure she had it.

_Maybe I will go send this now and buy myself some more time before I have to deal with Harry and Ron._

She looked up to make sure that the boys had not seen her yet, only to meet Ginny's eye. Hermione put her finger to her lips to signal Ginny not to say anything. Ginny nodded and Hermione fled back down the corridor.

She made it to the Owlery in record time and sent the letter to her parents off with Hedwig. Hermione figured that if she had to deal with Harry and Ron right now, the least they owed her was the use of Harry's owl.

She watched Hedwig take flight before she grudgingly made her way back to her rooms.

Hermione was not surprised to see Harry and Ron still arguing with her portrait, but Ginny was nowhere to be found. It was at moments like this that she was glad she changed her password frequently. The last thing she wanted, or needed, was Harry and Ron snooping around her rooms.

She walked up behind the boys and whispered the password. The portrait managed to hear her over the voices of the boys and swung open, leaving Harry and Ron staring at her door in shocked silence.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at their reaction, which caused the boys to swing around and stare at her for a moment.

When they gathered their wits about them, Ron narrowed his eyes at Hermione, while Harry eyed her with concern.

"Where have you been?" Ron demanded.

Harry went to say something, but Hermione cut him off.

"Why do you want to know?" Hermione replied as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"Because we want to know what the bloody hell is going on with you!" Ron bellowed.

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	7. 7: This is my life

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**Disclaimer: Not mine, unfortunately. The characters all belong to the lovely JKR and the lyrics are presented as sung by Staind.**

**I meant to have this chapter written and posted Saturday night, but that obviously did not happen. I got sidetracked with reading some Hermione/Severus fic that seemed pretty interesting…totally forgot which one it was though.**

**Then I wanted to finish writing this chappie and post it Sunday afternoon, but I decided to go off-roading with my sister, her boyfriend and one of their friends…turns out that we have some sand pits right behind our complex that I never even knew about, we can get to them from the back of our complex. It was a lot of fun, I took my truck out there and got it all muddy, but then it rained and most of the mud was washed away, which is good, I guess…(okay, so I wrote that part last night, and what do I find when I go out to my truck this morning to leave for work? A nice flat tire. Yea, so I'm not going off-roading again anytime soon)**

**So, I know that I have a bunch of review replies to do, and I will get to them, eventually…they just take so damn long (yes, I know I am whining, sorry) that I have to mentally prepare myself to do them…hopefully my mental preparedness will be up to par tonight…in the mean time, thank you for all the wonderful reviews. I really do appreciate them, even if I do not respond to them in a timely manner.**

**Anyway, here is the next installment…I'm not sure how much I like it, but it is what it is…in the first part, I present to you the confrontation between Harry, Ron and Mione. It did not work out the way I intended, in fact it completely mutated itself to be something vastly different from what I started out with, but that seems to be the nature of the beast known as this story. I hope that it works the way it is, because I tried to change it back to how I wanted it, but it just was not happening.**

**The second part is the much awaited and completely uninterrupted Hermione/Remus goodness that earned this story the M-rating that I gave it. Enjoy! If you all find that I did a decent job with my first sex scene, I will write more, so be sure to let me know!**

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_**This is my life  
It's not what it was before**__**  
All these feelings I've shared**__**  
And these are my dreams**__**  
That I'd never lived before…**_

_**--So Far Away by Staind**_

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**Chapter Seven**

**This is my life…**

"_Because we want to know what the bloody hell is going on with you!" Ron bellowed._

Hermione stared at her two best friends for several moments, torn between relief that they finally noticed something was 'off' with her and anger that they would confront her like this. For the moment, she opted more for the anger than the relief.

"Pardon me? You want to know what the bloody hell is going on with me? Why don't you try some tact, Ronald, then I might just confide in you what the bloody hell is wrong with me!" Hermione seethed.

She knew that it was probably long past time that her best friends found out, but did it have to be done right now? Part of her was really wishing that she didn't flee Remus' office earlier, though she was completely undecided over which would be worse – Remus' rejection or Harry and Ron's anger.

_Hmm, tough call._

"Forget tact, Mione. Just tell us what exactly it is that you have been hiding from us?" Harry said, finally.

Hermione regarded them for another few minutes, wondering how in the world she should break the news. _Gently or right to the point?_

Ron's patience seemed to wear out completely (that's if he even had any to begin with) as they waited for Hermione to appeal to their demands. He stepped forward and grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her through the door to her rooms. Once all three of them were in the Head Girls' rooms, he spoke heatedly.

"We'll make this easy for you Hermione. Why have you been spending so much time with Professor Lupin?"

Hermione had to physically prevent her jaw from dropping in surprise…

_Now, that was not what I was expecting, but okay. We can deal with one issue at a time, I guess._

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked, trying to gauge just what they are implying.

"We are talking about the fact that you always stay after everyone else leaves DADA class, you are never around anymore, you disappear for hours, your schedule suddenly changed this week, and you are not in half our classes anymore. And when we asked Ginny where you might be not more than an hour ago, she told us you were probably with Remus," Harry replied.

"Ah, right," Hermione laughed when she realized that they did not bring up anything that she could not easily explain away without lying, much. "Well, I guess you haven't heard yet, but I am Professor Lupin's new teaching assistant"

Ron and Harry exchanged a look as they considered the information.

"Why didn't you tell us when you found out?" Ron asked, apparently bothered that they were not the first ones to hear the news.

"I'm sorry. I only found out a week or so ago and I've been so busy that I thought I already told you."

Actually, it wasn't that far from the truth. She was very busy lately, but it actually never occurred to her to tell the boys of her new title.

"That's okay, Mione. We know you've been busy, we just wish you told us right away is all," Ron said, finally placated.

Then Harry dropped the bomb that he had been holding since they first started looking for her over an hour ago.

"Just tell me why you were in Remus' private rooms earlier, Mione," Harry said suspiciously.

_What? How the hell does he know that?_

Hermione's eyes widened as she looked at Harry, his green eyes boring into her as he waited for some sort of explanation. She turned her wide eyes to Ron only to see him looking wide-eyed at Harry as well.

_Oh shit! He probably checked the Marauder's Map to see where I was, before or after Ginny told them that I was with Remus. I guess he did not say anything to Ron, judging by the look on Ron's face._

Hermione felt frozen as she scrambled for some sort of plausible explanation. Before she could come up with even some snippet of one, Ron spoke up.

"What are you talking about Harry?"

Harry turned his green eyes on Ron as he pulled an old piece of parchment from his pocket and held it up. "I am talking about the fact that I saw a dot labeled 'Hermione Granger' in _Professor_ Lupin's private bedroom…"

Ron paled as Harry paused, but he seemed to flush with color at the implication of what Harry was saying. Hermione stared at Harry in the same manner as one stares at a train wreck – completely horrified – as she felt his eyes turn back to glare at her. She felt powerless to stop the words that she knew were about to come out of Harry's mouth.

"Her dot was _extremely _close to a dot labeled 'Remus Lupin' and since they were in his _bedroom_, I can only assume what it was they were doing," Harry spoke to Ron as if Hermione was not even there, even though his eyes were focused solely on her.

Ron was livid at the idea that Hermione was shagging Remus, as was Harry. He turned to Hermione to see her looking horrified. _Good_, he thought, _she should be ashamed of shagging a professor, especially one who was a friend of her best friend's father. That is just disgusting! And to think that I used to fancy myself in love with her, what utter rubbish that was._

Hermione was wishing, fervently, that the ground would open up and swallow her whole because she really did not want to deal with their disgusted and disappointed glares right now.

She felt horrible that they had to find out as they did, but then again, it was none of their business to begin with. She was a big girl, she could snog, date, or shag whomever she wanted to without her friends needing to know or having to approve.

And the worst part was that she didn't even get to shag Remus yet, and she probably never would now that Harry and Ron knew of their 'relationship'.

Not knowing what to say, Hermione just stared at them until Ron lost his temper, again.

"What the fuck, Hermione? Are you shagging all your professors? Is that how you get such high marks? Do they mark you on your shagging abilities as well?" Ron exploded.

Hermione cringed at the thought of 'shagging all her professors'; the images were just too much to bear. She breathed deeply, preparing to explode right back at the righteous little bastard she used to consider one of her best friends, but Ron shouted at her again before she could even open her mouth.

"What did you think Hermione? That you could have your cake and eat it too?"

Hermione tried to hold back the chuckle that was begging to escape, really she tried, but it was all for naught. Luckily, the chuckle came out as more of a snort. She always hated that stupid saying and she most certainly planned to make it known.

"That is utterly ridiculous, Ronald Weasley! What is the bloody point of having cake if you can't eat it? Why don't you think before you speak next time?"

Harry let go of his anger long enough to chuckle for a moment before Hermione turned the heat of her chocolate eyes on him. He knew as soon as he met her eyes that she had enough of the two of them and she was planning to tell them so.

"I have had it with you two interfering with my life! I am of legal age, in both wizard and muggle society, and I am perfectly capable of deciding who I want to shag without needing your consent or approval," Hermione spoke softly though she was seething inside.

She glared at her two so-called best friends as she considered what she should say next. It hit her then that it was a perfect opportunity to break the news of being a werewolf to them…they were not likely to be any angrier than they already were.

"While we are on the subject of you two thinking that you have the right to know everything that goes on in my life, have either of you noticed anything seriously different with me or are you both too stupid to notice the changes caused by the worst thing that has ever happened to me?" The boys looked at her in bewilderment, wondering what they missed. "Over two months ago, I was attacked by a werewolf. Funny you two never noticed all the changes since then."

Ron's jaw dropped and Harry observed Hermione in silent contemplation. After what felt like years, Harry finally spoke.

"Was it Remus?"

Hermione looked at him in confusion for a moment before she realized what he meant. Unfortunately, Harry took her hesitation as the answer to his question.

"I'm going to fucking kill him!" He immediately stalked toward the door, obviously hell-bent on confronting Remus.

"Harry! It wasn't! It wasn't Remus!" Hermione yelled frantically once she realized the conclusion Harry came to.

Harry was just about through her door back to the corridor when Hermione's words reached him. He stopped and turned back to look sadly at his 'friend'. "Fine, I won't kill Remus. But that doesn't change anything between us, Hermione. You betrayed our trust, our friendship by keeping some shocking 'secrets' from us. You are not the person I thought you were, neither is Remus."

Hermione nodded. She felt bad that the boys were not taking things well, but at the same time, she felt like they were not that close anymore anyway. The past two plus months changed her so much; things just were no longer the same between them, they hadn't been for a while. How they did not see that was beyond her.

_Why they can't see that my time with Remus was the only thing that kept me, keeps me, from losing it over being cursed as a werewolf? Then again, they are boys_, she thought. _I have to make sure that they don't go starting rumors, not that I think they will, but I just need some assurance that they will hold their tongues_.

"Promise me that neither of you will say anything to anyone, including Remus," Hermione demanded as Ron made his way to Harry near the door.

Ron had yet to say anything since finding out that she was now a werewolf. When he walked up to Harry, the two boys shared a knowing look before he turned back to Hermione. His face was expressionless when he said, "We won't say anything, but don't expect us to be there to pick up the pieces when he hurts you."

Hermione watched as her two best friends walked out the door, knowing that it would be a while before she spoke to either of them. She wasn't too surprised to find that she was okay with that idea.

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Remus approached the portrait to the Head Girl's room, not entirely sure what he was doing. It was lunchtime and he wasn't even sure if Hermione would be in her room or down in the Great Hall.

He tortured himself after Hermione walked out of his rooms yesterday. He felt like a prat for stopping her, for presuming to know what she would want more than she did. He knew that it was wrong of him, but he just could not get the fear of her regretting whatever they did out of his mind.

He spent the rest of the afternoon moping about his office, trying to get some marking done but failing miserably. He hoped that Hermione would come back sometime later in the day, but when she didn't appear by curfew, he knew he was fooling himself.

That was when all the old self-doubt truly kicked in. He slept fitfully and woke up knowing that he had to see Hermione, if for no other reason than to make sure that they would be able to work together without any drama.

Standing in front of the portrait to Hermione's room, he knocked and waited, somewhat patiently, to see if Hermione answered. He knew that she made it a habit to cast a charm to see through her door and he hoped that she would let him in when she saw him.

He did not have to wait long as the portrait opened to reveal Hermione standing there in the jeans and shirt that he gave her the morning after her first full moon. He forgot all about those clothes, but now he felt a warm feeling in his stomach at the thought that she still wore his shirt.

"Hullo Remus," Hermione smiled up at him.

"Good morning, love."

He felt another warm feeling as he followed her into her rooms. The thought that this was his first time in her rooms did not elude him. It was incredibly intimate and he found himself wanting to explore as much as he could.

He was distracted before he had a fair chance to look around as Hermione rushed at him with tears in her eyes. He pulled her into a tight embrace and whispered in her hair.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, Mione. I promise not to make decisions for you like that again."

He felt her shake her head against his chest as she spoke muffled words. "No, Remus, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left things like that. I just felt hurt that you rejected me, but I realized late last night why you did it."

It was true, too. She thought about many things last night, most of them concerning Remus, and she came to the conclusion that he stopped her because he did not want her to feel pressured in any way, not because he didn't want her.

He stroked her back as she clung to him. He could hear her sniffling and he had a distinct feeling that something else wrong.

"What else is bothering you?"

Hermione leaned back to look into his gray eyes as she sighed. Last night, she thought about how best to tell him what the boys knew and decided that the best way was the straightforward route.

"After I left your rooms, Harry and Ron confronted me with the fact that they saw us in your bedroom on the Marauder's Map yesterday. They were quite angry but I made them promise not to tell anyone what they 'saw'. I also told them that I am now a werewolf, though they seemed less shocked by that than they did about us."

Remus stiffened when she mentioned the boys catching them in his room on the map, but he knew that they wouldn't say anything.

"Wow, Mione, you had quite the day yesterday, eh?"

His comment elicited a soft laugh from Hermione and he pulled her closer to him.

"We have every right to spend time together, since you are my assistant, but we will just have to be careful about the 'private time' we spend together. Maybe I can find a way to confiscate the map from the boys," Remus' gray eyes sparkled mischievously at the idea.

Hermione reached up to pull his head down for a chaste kiss before she whispered, "I think that sounds like a grand idea."

Remus chuckled as he swung her around in a circle playfully before he turned serious again. "I'm sorry that the boys are angry about us, but at least they know everything now. You don't have to worry about hiding things from them anymore."

"That's true. I think it will be a while before they start talking to me again though."

"No worries, they will come around when they are ready," he said softly as he leaned down to kiss her.

Remus released her lips after the brief kiss and gave her a distinctly wolfish smile. "What do you say we pick up where we left off yesterday?"

Without saying a word, Hermione grasped Remus' hand and led him to her bedroom. Once they were standing near her four-post bed, she turned to Remus and pulled him in for a searing kiss.

She ran her hands through is hair as her tongue traced along his bottom lip before slipping inside his mouth. His hands were already slipping under the shirt she wore, seeking contact with her smooth skin.

Remus kissed his way along Hermione's jaw and down to her neck as she started to unbutton his shirt. She was having a rough time of it though, as Remus' tongue running along the skin of her neck made it difficult to concentrate on the task at hand. Unable to work the third button down after four tries, she decided to just rip the shirt open.

Remus growled when he felt Hermione pull his shirt open and increased his assault on her neck, nibbling and sucking until he caused goose-pimples to break out up and down her body.

The feel of her slender hands on his chest was amazing and he moaned as he sought her mouth once again. Devouring her in a kiss, he followed Hermione's lead and pulled her shirt up. He broke the kiss only long enough to pull the shirt over her head. He nibbled her bottom lip as he hands roamed over the soft skin of her belly and back.

When his hands ran up the length of her back, he realized that she wasn't wearing a bra. How he missed that when he pulled her shirt off, he didn't know.

He cupped a breast in each hand and rolled her nipples between each thumb and forefinger causing her to moan and deepen the kiss. Wanting to feel her bare skin up against his chest, he pulled her flush against his body. The heat of her breasts against his chest was bloody amazing and he wanted to cry out at the loss of heat when Hermione pulled back slightly.

She broke the kiss and smiled up at him before she kissed her way down his neck to his shoulders and then his chest. She nuzzled the fine hair that graced his chest before she gently bit down on each of his nipple. Remus moaned at the pleasurable pain that shot through him and felt himself harden.

Hermione smiled at Remus' reaction to her ministrations before she kissed her way back up to his neck. She sucked on his pulse point as her hands slid down his stomach to his belt. She hesitated for a moment, waiting to see if he would try to stop her like last time. When she felt him caress her breasts again, she knew that he was definitely not going to stop her, so she unbuckled his belt and flicked the button of his jeans open as quickly as she could.

He groaned as he felt Hermione's hand graze his erection through his pants as she slid the zipper down.

Remus was surprised at her boldness…he was sure that this would be her first time and he did not think that she had much experience in the realm of foreplay, but she was doing a great job of seducing him at the moment. He knew that Hermione was good at whatever she did, so he figured she probably read some erotic novels so she would know what to do when the time came.

He was pulled back from his thoughts as Hermione pulled his pants down revealing midnight blue boxers that were doing nothing to contain his erection. She admired the boxers for a moment before she slid them down as well. He watched Hermione take in the sight of his manhood as he stepped out of his pants.

He knew that if she reached to feel him right now, it would be his undoing, so he reached forward to undo the buttons to her pants. He wanted to give her all the pleasure he could before he lost control and took her innocence, knowing that the first time would be more painful than pleasurable for her.

As Remus pulled her jeans down her legs, he was shocked to discover that innocent little Hermione was not wearing any knickers. The knowledge that she did not wear anything beneath the clothes that he gave her caused him to harden even more, if that was possible.

He growled low in his throat as he pushed Hermione back onto the bed and settled down on his right side next to her. His mouth sought her left breast as his left hand tenderly roamed her body from her shoulder down to her thigh before his fingers sought the curls at the apex of her thighs.

Hermione moaned when she felt Remus touch her center and she pulled his head up to kiss him. He was so gentle yet Hermione could feel the passion rolling off him in waves and it made her ache for him to be inside her.

Hermione writhed under Remus' ministrations, his nimble fingers hitting all the right spots leading her to her first orgasm…well, first one brought on by someone else's hands, anyway. He nearly lost it when he felt her walls contract around his fingers and her moaning his name in ecstasy was the most erotic sound he ever heard.

He watched her as she came down from the high with a wolfish grin on his face. The thought that he brought her that much pleasure was overwhelmingly satisfying to him.

Hermione looked up at him and whispered, "I want to feel you inside me."

That was his undoing. He settled himself in between her thighs and kissed her lips softly. "This is going to hurt at first, love."

Hermione just smiled and wrapped her legs around his thighs as she urged him on. He slid his length in slowly, fighting the urge to thrust hard and fast. She cried out in pain when he broke through her resistance and he paused to let her adjust to the feel of him in her.

Hermione breathed deep through the pain, a few tears leaking from her closed eyes. She knew the pain would dull to more of an ache as her body adjusted, but at the moment it stung like a bitch.

Remus noticed the tears leaking out of her closed eyes and he leant down to kiss them away. He hated to cause her pain, but he was thrilled that he was the first one to touch this uncharted part of her. She would always remember her 'first' and he wanted to make it as good a memory as he could.

After kissing away Hermione's tears, he moved his mouth to hers and kissed her lips with burning passion. He felt her hips move against his and he knew she was ready to continue. His thrusts were slow and soft at first but they gradually increased in speed and roughness as his pleasure took over his senses. He lost himself to the feel of her surrounding him.

Hermione was surprised that it felt so good to have him inside her. At first, she thought the pain would last forever, but now she could feel nothing but the amazing friction caused by Remus' thrusts. She loved it and kept her eyes open to see if the look of pure pleasure was reflected on his face.

He kept his eyes open too and watched Hermione as she experienced making love for the first time…she was truly a vision to him with her eyes clouded with desire, her face scrunched up in pleasure, her lips parted as she moaned and cried out his name. The sight of her watching him and the pleasure he felt as he moved within her was too much and he exploded.

Remus cried out as he came, the words barely registering through the haze of ecstasy that he felt. He convinced himself that he only imagined saying those words when he received no reaction from Hermione and he was torn between relief and regret…relief that he did not say them and regret for the same reason.

Ignoring those thoughts, Remus focused on the afterglow as he rolled to his side and pulled Hermione close to him. She kissed him and snuggled into his chest.

"That was bloody amazing," Remus said as Hermione yawned.

"Yes, it was. I think I need a nap though, shagging is exhausting," Hermione replied with another yawn. "Will stay and nap with me?"

Remus laughed and kissed her before he pulled the covers over them. He wanted nothing more than to hold her and fall asleep with her right now, so there was no way he was going to leave any time soon. "Of course, love."

Hermione closed her eyes and thought about what Remus said as he came. She knew that she shouldn't put too much stock in it, since Lavender and Parvati both told her that guys say things in the heat of the moment that they do not necessarily mean. But, the thought of Remus actually meaning it was too sweet to let go, even if it was a 'heat of the moment' thing.

She let the words roll around in her head, a vision of him saying them repeatedly clear in her mind. She pictured herself saying the words back to him as she drifted off to sleep in Remus' arms, not realizing that she spoke them aloud.

"I love you."

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**Well, there you have it folks…my first sex scene. And the whole I love you part at the end…well, it might seem rushed, it might not, I'm not sure. All I know is that I am a hopeless romantic and that is what you get when a hopeless romantic writes about her two favorite characters shagging…I actually did not even intend to put that in there, but like I said last chapter, this fic seems to want to write itself.**


	8. 8: Let the judges frown

**Disclaimer:**** Of course it does not belong to me...but I did just get a call from JKR letting me know that I can have Remus whenever I want him – hmm, imagine the possibilities...if only that was true. As always, HP universe JKR, lyrics James Blunt.**

**Thank you for all the lovely reviews! I don't have much to say today, so I will just let you get to the good stuff. **

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_**Did I disappoint you  
Or let you down?**__**  
Should I be feeling guilty**__**  
Or let the judges frown?**_

_**--Goodbye My Lover by James Blunt**_

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**Chapter Eight**

**Let the judges frown...**

A week later, Hermione cuddled close to Remus as she bordered on the edge of wakefulness. She was in no rush to wake up as they had stayed up to all hours of the night talking and making love. They both had a stressful week and were in dire need of some relaxation.

Hermione taught her first set of classes during the week – teaching appeared to come naturally to her, but she still spent many hours preparing and revising lesson plans as well as completing her own schoolwork. Remus had a few incidents to deal with during his fifth year classes that stressed him out a bit, as well as the monthly staff meeting and Order debriefing. All in all, it was a long week for the two of them.

They both wanted to take full advantage of a relaxing Friday night and neither wanted to spend it alone. It was only the second time that they slept together and it was the first time they spent the whole night together without being wolves. To both of them, the night was nothing short of wonderful.

When Hermione finally opened her eyes, she looked at Remus to see him still sleeping. He looked so young and relaxed in the peacefulness of sleep. She watched him for a minutes before a naughty idea struck her.

She slid down under the sheets that were spread across his waist and positioned herself right next to his left hip. She glanced up to make sure that he was still sleeping as she reached out to grasp him. He was slightly hard as she wrapped her hand around his shaft. _Hmm, morning wood_, Hermione thought as she recalled Lavender and Parvati mentioning that particular occurrence during one of their hen nights.

She gently stroked him as he became fully erect in her hand. She smiled to herself as she thought about what she planned to do to him. She never did this before, but she read about it and heard all the graphic details from none other than Lavender and Parvati. They practically gave the girls a how-to demonstration on bananas during one of the hen nights a few months ago.

As she leaned in, she ran her tongue along the tip of his head and down the underside of his shaft. She felt his hips buck as she did this and she smiled. She moved her lips to kiss her way up and down his shaft before she took him in her mouth. She moved him in and out of her mouth in the way that Parvati said guys like and she heard him moan sleepily.

She marveled at the textured of his skin – it was so silky soft, yet hard as a rock. He had a salty taste that she found to be more pleasant than she would have thought.

She continued for a few minutes until she heard Remus' voice. "Mmm, Mione, that feels so good."

Hermione looked up to meet his eyes, which were clouded with desire and pleasure, and continued to move her mouth over him. She felt him weave his hands into her hair as she lifted her head and stroked him with her hand.

"Come 'ere, love," he whispered and Hermione climbed up his body, kissing bits of bare skin as she went.

When she reached his neck, she gently ran her tongue up until she reached his ear. She nibbled on his ear before whispering, "Did you sleep well?"

Remus growled as he pulled her face close to his. "Yes, but the best part of sleeping was waking up to this," he whispered as he kissed her hungrily.

He flipped her over and proceeded to ravage her body. After both of them were spent, he held her tightly to him as they regained their breath.

It was still early and they had nowhere to be until near lunchtime. They were going to visit Hermione's parents today to inform them of her 'condition'. Neither one of them wanted to think about that at the moment, though.

Instead, Remus thought about what he thought Hermione said to him last night. Last week, he thought that he dreamt Hermione telling him that she loved him as she was falling asleep. He thought he dreamt it because Hermione never mentioned anything about it after that – until last night, that is. Last night, he barely heard her whisper the words 'I love you' as he entered that twilight zone of sleep, but he was still coherent enough to know that he was not dreaming.

The question was whether she was aware of what she said or was she just talking in her sleep? That was something that Remus would ponder until later that night.

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"Are you ready, love?" Remus asked.

Hermione released a shaky breath as she looked from the door in front of her to the man next to her.

She was not ready, but she knew that it was now or never.

She smiled up at him and nodded before shifting her eyes back to the door, but Hermione made no move to knock on the door. Remus watched her as she stared unseeing at the door and he squeezed her hand briefly before he stepped forward and rapped his knuckles on the door.

A few moments later, a serious-looking woman with thick brown hair and hazel eyes opened the door. The woman looked at the two people standing on her landing before she realized that one of them was her daughter.

"Hermione! I was not sure what time you would be here," Mrs. Granger said as she pulled her daughter in for a hug. She ushered Hermione into the house and nearly shut the door in Remus' face, having forgot that he was standing there.

"Oh goodness! I'm sorry! Where are my manners? I am Anna Granger, you must be Remus," Anna reached out to shake Remus' hand.

"It is nice to meet you, Anna," Remus replied as he shook her hand. He took a few moments to observe the woman and he found that she had the same hair as Hermione, but her face was more stern and sharp than Hermione's.

"Hermione mentioned that you would be escorting her home for the day."

Remus nodded as he followed Anna Granger into the house. He was impressed with the Granger residence – it was well-kept, very inviting, and really quite big. He could see pictures of the family and of Hermione as a child hung on the walls as he walked down the short hallway.

They emerged into what looked like a family room with two very comfortable looking couches and one recliner in front of a big-screen television. Hermione was already sitting on one couch talking to a middle-aged man who was sitting in the recliner.

Hermione looked up as her mother entered the room followed by Remus. She could not help but smile when she saw Remus – he looked so good in her home. She felt her heart flutter when he flashed her that crooked smile of his. She tried to convey with her eyes how thankful she was that he was there with her and found herself nearly getting lost in his beautiful gray eyes. The sound of her mother's voice broke the spell, and she concentrated on the presence of her parents once again.

"Make yourself comfortable, Remus," Anna instructed as she pointed to the sofa that Hermione was sitting on. As Remus sat an appropriate distance from Hermione, Anna gestured toward her husband. "Remus, this is my husband Jack."

The two men nodded at each other as Remus stood to shake Hermione's father's hand. He sat back down and idly listened to the small talk that Hermione and her father made about her studies and her friends.

He tuned out for a few minutes as he watched the large television in front of him. He had no idea what he was watching, but he was glued to the screen nevertheless – the TV was so big that it seemed to suck you right in. Sure, he was a half-blood, but it had been years since he owned a television, and never did he have one this large, so he enjoyed it while he could.

His attention was drawn from the television when Anna Granger entered the room and announced that lunch was ready. He followed Hermione and her father into the kitchen to a polished wooden table for four set near a bay window. Remus sat to Hermione's right while Anna served everyone the soup and sandwiches that she made.

The conversation was light and friendly while they ate, mostly consisting of Hermione's life at school and a little bit about what Remus did at the school. Hermione mentioned being Remus' teachers assistant and her parents seemed to approve of that.

There was some mention of Hermione's appearance, too.

"You look thin dear. Are you eating enough at that school? You should eat more, don't want people to think you are anorexic!"

"You look tired and have bags under your eyes! Are you getting enough sleep? What did I tell you about using concealer to hide the bags under your eyes? You don't want people to think that you don't take care of yourself!"

It was almost a relief when the conversation took the turn both Hermione and Remus knew was coming when Anna asked her about the reason for the visit.

"Not that we don't love seeing you, honey, because you know we do," Jack Granger said. "It was just a surprise to see that owl arrive with a letter saying you were coming for the day when it's not a holiday or anything."

Hermione glanced at Remus and he gave her a smile and a nod of encouragement. She took a deep breath and focused on her parents as she racked her brain for the right way to put things. She thought about it everyday since Dumbledore told her she would get to see them, and in that week she was completely incapable of coming up with a decent way to break the news to her parents.

_How do you tell your muggle parents that you were bitten by a werewolf and are now a magical half-breed as well as a mudblood? It will scare them to death since they have no concept of what I am trying to tell them!_

_I will just have to go with the same modus operandi that I have with everyone else – get straight to the point._

"Mum, Dad, I have something to tell you that I think you will have a hard time understanding," Hermione said in a shaky voice as she stared at the table in front of her. She did not notice that Remus' hand slid below the table until he squeezed her thigh, but she was grateful that he did that – she needed his strength because what she was about to say would break her parents' hearts.

"You know you can tell us anything, sweetheart," Anna tried to make her voice sound accepting, but the worry was evident in her tone.

Hermione flashed her mother a weak smile before she frowned at the table again. "Over two months ago, I was out in the forest when I should not have been. It was a full moon and I was attacked by a werewolf." Hermione rushed through her statement as quickly as possible and waited with bated breath for her parents' reaction.

She did not have to wait long, for as soon as the words left her mouth, her parents kind disposition turned cold and judgemental.

"WHAT?" Jack shouted in shocked confusion, startling Hermione. "I thought that werewolves were just myths. How is it possible that you were attacked by one?"

"Hermione, how could you let this happen? What were you thinking, going into the forest and letting yourself be attacked? I thought you were smarter than that! What will people think?" Anna berated.

_So much for being able to tell you two anything, eh? That only counts for good news or things that make you look like good parents. I should have known that they would be like this, and they are only going to get worse. I should have warned Remus about what they can be like._

Hermione was quickly becoming exasperated with her parents – them being upset and worried was one thing, but they are getting upset and worried over the wrong things!

_Who the bloody hell cares what people think? And it's not like I knew what was going to happen! I did not set out with the intention of getting bit and ruining my life as I know it! They always do that – they are more concerned about what other people will think of them than they are about my well being. And they knew damn well that werewolves actually exist! I told them all about Remus a few years ago! _

Remus could tell that Hermione was disappointed in her parents reactions, so he decided now would be a good time to assist.

"Anna, Jack, werewolves truly exist in the wizarding world, and Hermione knew that it was dangerous to go into the forest during the full moon because of them, but she needed to obtain certain ingredients that can only be collected during the full moon. It was truly unfortunate that she was attacked, but that cannot be changed now. The only thing that she needs now is your love and support," Remus said as he unconsciously stroked Hermione's thigh with his fingers.

It was only when Hermione's hand squeezed his that he realized he never removed his hand from earlier. He glanced at Hermione to see her give him a grateful smile before he turned his attention back to her parents.

Anna and Jack had many questions which Remus tried to answer as honestly as he could. Their questions were warranted of course, but they seemed too concerned with the way other people would view Hermione, or them as her parents, instead of how Hermione would view herself or how she was dealing with everything. This concerned him, but a stern look from Hermione told him that it was best not to comment.

When Jack questioned him on why he knew so much about werewolves, Remus was left with no option but to tell them that he was one. He could have lied, but he did not feel right about lying to them. Perhaps he should have, because once he told them he knew right away what they were thinking and he tried to explain, with a lot of help from Hermione, that he was not, in fact, the one to attack her that fateful night. Even after that explanation, he still lost the respect of both her parents, which he was convinced was not a big concern. He did not need the respect of, nor could he have respect for, people who would treat their only child as if she was a burden to them.

When it became apparent that Hermione had enough of her parents, Remus stood up to say that it was time to go.

"Lunch was delicious, but it is time for me to get Hermione back to Hogwarts. Thank you and it was nice meeting you both," Remus' tone was cordial, but he was about ready to knock Anna's and Jack's heads together and he could not wait to get out of there. If he felt that way, he could only imagine how Hermione felt right now.

Jack and Anna stood and nodded. He knew that was as cordial as they were likely to get now, so he made no effort to shake either person's hand.

He watched as Hermione loosely hugged her parents before all four of them turned and headed for the front door. When they were all reached in the front hall, Anna stopped them and stood close to Jack. Remus did not like the look they both gave Hermione and he suspected that he would like what they were about to say even less, but there was nothing he could do about it. _Poor Hermione. As if she doesn't have enough to deal with, now she has to deal with judgmental and selfish parents._

"Hermione, dear, we think it would be best if you did not come home for the Easter holiday," Anna said and Hermione's face dropped at the realization of what they were saying. "We need sometime to get used to the fact that our only daughter is now a monster once a month. It's not something that we can take lightly, you understand, right?"

_No, I don't bloody well understand!_ Hermione thought. _You are my parents! You are supposed to love me unconditionally! _

She knew that she could never say that to her parents – the arguments that would result would be the verbal equivalent of a battle with Voldemort. Instead, she forced down any tears that pricked the back of her eyes and faced her parents with a coldness that would make Snape proud.

"If that is how you want it. Should I bother coming back after graduation?"

When she saw no feeling in either of her parent's eyes, she knew that they would never understand. She could accept that they were scared of what they didn't know or understand, but their complete disregard for her feelings over the whole situation made her realize that her parents were prejudice in the worst way – they would never forgive their daughter for being not only a witch (that alone they could handle at a distance), but also a 'monster', as they put it, regardless of the fact that both things were beyond her control.

Without waiting for their answer to her cold question, Hermione fled from the house with barely contained tears flooding her eyes. There was no way she was going to let her _loving_ parents see that they made her cry.

Remus watched in abject horror as Hermione's parents literally cut her off from their lives and he felt anger well up in him as saw the tears in Hermione's eyes as she fled the house.

_Fools! They will end up regretting pushing their only daughter away for being something that she has no control over! All that level-headed explaining that I went through an hour ago and they still did not get the fact that their daughter is already cursed for life against her will, why make it worse?_

He wanted so badly to put these people in their place for hurting the woman he loved, but he truly believed that it would not make a difference, so he refrained. Instead, he merely narrowed his eyes at the Grangers before he stormed out of the house after Hermione.

Outside, he found no sign of the young woman and he began to worry. He looked around to see if any muggles were around before he surreptitiously cast a spell to detect whether or not Hermione apparated recently. The spell indicated that she did, so Remus immediately disapparated for the only place he could think of that she would go to be completely alone.

A second later he appeared in front of the Shrieking Shack.

**

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Hermione sat in the same room where she first met the 'convict' Sirius Black and accused Remus of helping the wrongly-convicted wizard. It was ironic that she screamed out Remus' secret of being a werewolf that day only to become one herself four years later. Life really was a bitch.

It seemed only fitting that she come here to think and she was surprised when she arrived to find that the old shack had been repaired and cleaned up since the last time she was here. It was by no means a suitable residence, but it was definitely a great place for a hangout or for some peaceful solitude. She sat on the bed and let her mind replay the events of the past couple of hours.

She could not believe her parents behavior...or maybe she could. They had been steadily growing apart since they first received her letter from Hogwarts and discovered that their precious daughter was a (gasp) witch. Her parents did not know what to make of her after that and it only seemed to get worse as she became more involved in the wizarding world.

She should have known that, sooner or later, things would come to this. Unfortunately, it happened to be sooner than Hermione would have liked. That did not stop it from hurting, though. They were her parents, for Merlin's sake!

Hermione flopped back on the bed she was sitting on and let the tears flow.

Hermione was so involved in releasing her emotions that she did not hear the creak on the stairs or the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. It was not until the bed sagged beside her that Hermione noticed someone else was in the room. She felt a calm wash over her as the person's arms wrapped around her to pull her close and she knew instantly who it was.

"Are you alright, love?"

Hermione nuzzled his neck and breathed in his earthy scent before she answered. "I am much better now that you are here," she whispered into Remus' neck.

She sat up a little so that she could look into his caring gray eyes. "I'm sorry that you had to witness my parents at their _best_. Things used to be a lot better between us, but over the past several years, they seemed to be having a harder time dealing with what I am, and now this only made things exponentially worse in their eyes."

Remus tightened his hold on her and tilted his head down to kiss her lips. He tasted the salty evidence of her emotions on her lips and he moved his lips across her face to gently kiss away her tears. "I am just sorry that your parents would treat you that way. I was so angry with them when you stormed out of the house, but I thought it would be best not to say anything. I would not want to make things any worse for you."

Tears sprung to Hermione's eyes again as she kissed him. "I just had to get out of there. I do not think that you could make things any worse than they already are. I mean, my two best friends are not talking to me, my parents want nothing more to do with me, I'm doomed to be a werewolf for the rest of my life...you are the only good thing to come out of this whole situation."

The tears were poring out of her eyes as Remus held her and murmured comforting words. He hated to see her this way and he would do whatever was in his power to make things better for her.

They stayed like that for hours, moving only to kiss each other occasionally. When the sun set, Hermione sat up slightly to give Remus a lingering kiss. "Will you stay here with me tonight? I do not feel like going back to the castle tonight."

"Of course, love. I'll transfigure my cloak into a blanket and yours into fresh sheets, then we can cuddle up together right here. How does that sound?"

Hermione answered by taking off her shoes and outer clothing and Remus transfigured her cloak into soft cotton sheets. Leaving only her bra and panties on, she climbed back into bed. Remus stripped off all his clothes except for his boxers and transfigured his cloak into a large, thick blanket. He draped the blanket over the bed before he settled beneath the covers next to Hermione.

Hermione curled up against his warm body and laid her head on his chest as he wrapped one arm around her and used the other to caress her hand that she placed right over his heart. They each closed their eyes and took advantage of the silence to think. Without realizing how much time passed since they climbed into bed, Remus finally decided to speak the three words that had been haunting his thoughts all day.

"I love you."

Hermione lifted her head to see if he was talking in his sleep and met his gray eyes, which were filled with complete honesty and...love.

For a moment, Remus was terrified that she would push him away, but then he saw the warmth in her eyes, and he knew that she truly did mean the words she whispered in her sleep a week ago and again last night.

As she stared at his eyes, she felt like he was looking right into her soul and she knew there was no way she could hide the fact that she loved him right back. Not that she would want to anyway.

"I love you back, Remus."

They made love that night and it was the most amazing thing for each of them because they both knew that it was actual _love_ that they were making this time. And when they were both sated and on the brink of sleep, Hermione knew that, somehow, everything would be alright.

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**Hope you all liked it! I hope to have the next chapter up by Tuesday...I started writing it today, but I was having trouble with it so I did not get very far – hopefully it will start cooperating with me.**

**Anyone watching the Superbowl? I have it on, but I'm not really paying attention – I did see one of the funniest commercials I've ever seen though – the Fedex one with the cavemen? It was bloody hilarious!**


	9. 9: I'll be there for you

**Disclaimer: I keep telling you people that I own everything - I don't know why you don't believe me! Oh, wait, I'm not JK Rowling? Since when? Okay, fine...I admit that I am not the ever wonderful JKR. Nor am I the famous Bon Jovi...**

**Here we are with another chapter...this damn thing gave me the most trouble out of all the chapters and I have no clear idea why. But I finally got it rolling, even if it was a bit later than I intended - which means you get this on Wednesday instead of Tuesday, sorry.**

**Thank you, as always, for the delightful reviews!**

**One important bit of news - the awesome Evil Cat Hater was inspired to sketch a few scenes from last chapter...I checked them out and they are amazing - the things people can do with a marker! She posted them on her LJ, so definitely drop by, check them out, and be sure to leave a comment & let her know what you think! Here is the link: http / evilcathater (without the spaces, naturally) or www . livejournal . com / users / evilcaterhater (again, without spaces).**

**And now, onto the next installment...we're winding down folks, maybe two more chapters or so - running out of time and I am eager to get back to Man of the Night. Anyway, enjoy.**

**Oh, and the lyrics for this chapter are dedicated to Miss Amaya, just because I know how much you _lurve_ Bon Jovi...**

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__****I'll be there for you**

_**These five words I swear to you **_

_**When you breathe **__**I want tobe the air for you **_

_**I'll be there for you**_

**_I'd live and I'd die for you_**

**_Steal the sun from the sky for you_**

**_Words can't say what a love can do..._**

_**-I'll be there for you by Bon Jovi**_

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**Chapter Nine**

**I'll be there for you...**

Two weeks later, thecrowd in the Great Hall was noisy as Hermione and Ginny made their way to the Gryffindor table. They sat near the far end of the table so that they could converse without most of the table listening in. Hermione looked around and noticed that Harry and Ron were not there yet, not that it mattered since they still were not talking to her.

Hermione glanced at the Head Table to see if Remus was there – he wasn't – then she remembered him saying that he would not be there because he had to meet with a few students. She would be seeing him later, anyway, so she turned her attention back to Ginny.

"How is Draco?" Hermione asked with a teasing smile and she watched as her friend blushed.

"He is...perfect," Ginny replied with a glance to the Slytherin table. "He really is a sweet guy, not that most people...well, most Gryffindors...get to see it."

Hermione smiled at her friend. She was quite impressed that the younger girl was so successful at hiding her relationship withthe mortal enemy of her brother and his best friendfor so long. Ginny and Draco started talking to each other at the beginning of the year, but neither of them had the guts to try dating until several months later. As far as Hermione knew, she was the only one of Ginny's friends who was aware of the relationship.

She did not want to think about how Ron and Harry would react to the news of that relationship. Given their reaction to Hermione's relationship with Remus, she could only imagine that it would not be pleasant.

Hermione listened as Ginny regaled her with the redhead's latest snog-fest with Draco, trying in vain to keep her thoughts from straying to a certain handsome DADA professor - it was only when Ginny changed the subject that Hermione realized she was failing miserably.

"How about Remus?"

The question jarred Hermione from her thoughts and she looked at Ginny in confusion for a moment. _Shedoesn't know, does she?_

"What do you mean?"

Ginny laughed and shook her head. "You know exactly what I mean. How is Remus? I'm not daft, Mione. I know that there is something between you two," Ginny spoke quietly.

Hermione just stared at her friend for a few minutes. _She's right, she's not stupid. I should have known that Ginny would have picked up on my relationship with Remus sooner or later. At least she has more tact than the boys!_

"How long have you known?" Hermione could not help but ask.

"Since the day I told you I knew about your 'condition'. I caught the slip you made, but I did not want to say anything at the time. I figured one shocking thing at a time was enough for both of us."

Hermione laughed as she nodded in agreement.

"I should have known that you would figure it out," Hermione mumbled.

Ginny smiled at her friend and asked, "So, how are things going between you two?"

Hermione blushed through her answer. "Things are...wonderful."

Ginny watched as Hermione's eyes lost focus and she knew that her friend was thinking about Remus. Ginny gave Hermione a few minutes to daydream before she snapped her back to reality.

"Am I going to get any details?"

Hermione looked at Ginny for a second before she laughed and shook her head. "Unlike some people I know, I don't kiss and tell, Ginerva."

"Well, you should," Ginny shrugged and laughed.

The two girls ate their food in silence as the Hall seemed to become even louder than it was when they first walked in. After her last bite, Ginny noticed Harry and Ron walking into the Great Hall. She did not want to draw Hermione's attention to them, but she wanted to find out if they were talking to their other best friend yet.

"Are the boys still avoiding you?"

Hermione looked up from her food and nodded as she finished chewing what was in her mouth. "Yes, they only talk to me when it is absolutely necessary to in class. They won't even look at Remus," Hermione said sadly as she looked down the Gryffindor table to see if the boys were there yet, and she saw that they were. She felt a pang of sadness but she was mostly mad at them for behaving like children and giving her the silent treatment.

Ginny gave her a curious look and Hermione realized that Ginny did not know that the boys were more upset about her relationship with Remus than they were about her lycanthropy. "Oh, I never told you because I wasn't sure what was going on with us yet, but the boys discovered my 'relationship' with Remus by checking out where I was on the Marauder's Map."

"They didn't!" Ginny exclaimed. When Hermione nodded, Ginny added, "Those sneaky devils! You would think that after seven years of friendship, they would respect your privacy a bit more!"

Hermione agreed and went on to explain how the boys confronted her that day when they were standing outside the portrait to her rooms.

"Oh, I'm sorry Mione! I thought that they finally figured out the clues and were going to tell you that they knew you were a werewolf. I had no idea that they were going to get all huffy over Remus!" Ginny was thoroughly surprised at the boys' behavior. What right did they have to judge Hermione's relationships?

"That's what I thought at first, too, so imagine my surprise when Harry starts flipping out saying that he is going to kill Remus. It was not a fun time, that's for sure. The funny thing is, they took the news about me being a werewolf better than they did the news about Remus!"

"That's boys for you," Ginny said as she glared down the table toward her brother and Harry. Harry caught her eye and withered under her glare, leaving the redhead to feel satisfied for the moment. She was definitely going to have a little chat with those two later.

The Great Hall was fairly empty now and both girls realized that it was time to get to class. They parted ways in the hallway – Ginny heading to Potions and Hermione to DADA. Neither one was looking forward to their classes, but at least Hermionewasfortunate enoughto be seeing her...er, boyfriend...in her class. Granted, he was the professor, but really, what difference did that make?

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**DADA class went by fairly quickly since Remus – er, Professor Lupin – made it a practical lesson after only a few minutes of note-taking. Hermione paired up with Neville and stayed on the other side of the room from Harry and Ron for most of the class. 

Hermione did not mind, though, since Neville had become much more confident in DADA since Professor Lupin returned to teaching. They were practicingmore complex defensecounter-curses and Neville turned out to be fairly proficient after only a few tries. Hermione was impressed with his performance and made a mental note to mention it to Remus later, if he did not notice it himself, that is.

She was less impressed with Harry and Ron, as it seemed the two of them were unable to master any of the curses and resorted to flinging hexes at each other that had nothing to do with the lesson. Part of her wanted to say something to them about paying attention in class since they seemed to bepaying less and less attentionin DADA class since that day in her rooms, but she knew that they would just ignore her, so she left the disciplining to the professor.

Remus chose not to say anything to the boys until the end of class because he wanted to give them the opportunity to behave witha modicumof maturity during at least part of his lesson. Just like he tried to avoid reprimanding them in the previous two weeks, but it was reaching a point where somethinghad tobe done to set these two straight.. He was sorely disappointed in them when they reached the end of the lesson without accomplishing anything other than disrupting the other students' progress with the practical demonstration.

He knew that they were doing this because they were furiousabout him and Hermione, but they were going to have to learn that this was not the way to deal with their feelings. Even if they hated him for falling in love with their best friend, it really was not their business, and theyhad no right to bring personal feelings into the classroom. He had tohavea talk with them after class. Today.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley, see me after class," Remus nearly snarled as he watched them ignore Hermione as she tried to ask them to behave.

The two boys stopped mid-hex and gaped at him. Perhaps they realized that they took the whole'being unreasonably immature' acta little too far? Nah. Remus would never give them detention, or so they thought.

Once all of the students left the classroom - except for Hermione, who went into his office to prepare for her lesson with the second years - Remus stood in front of his desk waiting for Harry and Ron to approach him. His face was set in a very disapproving frown and he crossed his arms in front of his chest as he leaned back against the desk.

When Harry and Ron stood in front of him, their faces a mix of righteous indignation and sheepish indifference, Remus cleared his throat. "I am very disappointed in you two. I expected more of you, both in this classroom and in your treatment of your best friend, and you have let me down in both aspects. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

He watched as various emotions flashed across Harry's face while Ron's ears merely turned red. Remus raised an eyebrow when Harry direct a glare at him and he made sure to closethe classroom door and cast an imperturbablecharm on itwhile he waited for the boy to speak his mind.

"You are disappointed in us? In us? What about you? You are sleeping with a student! What do you have to say for yourself?" Harry snarled, his glare worthy of the old muggle saying 'if looks could kill'.

Remus shook his head at the boy...yes, boy, because that was how Harry was behaving right now...and leveled a serious and understanding look on the boy. "I understand that you were surprised, even upset at the knowledge of what you saw on the map, but I must say Harry, that it really is none of your business...We did not intend for things to work out as they did, but I don't regret that they did either."

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Remus held up a hand and bowed his head before he continued. "Hermione is entitled to have a relationship with whomever she deems worthy, without needing either your permission or approval. She is also entitled to her privacy, and you boys spying on her with the Marauder's Map is a direct invasion of that privacy. Therefore, I am going to have to ask you to give me the map, Harry." Remus held out his hand for the map, knowing that the boy would have it with him, most likely in his bag.

"Now," he growled as Harry just stood there gaping at him. When the boy finally dug the map out of his bag and reluctantly handed it over, Remus inclined his head and held the map up to look at it.

"Thank you, Harry. You will get this back when you prove that you possess the maturity to not invade in other people's private lives," Remus said as Harry narrowed his eyes at him. He noticed that Ron was being exceedingly quiet during this whole ordeal and wondered, briefly, what the deal was with that. "Ron, do you have anything that you would like to say?"

The redhead looked up at him, his face seemingly clear of emotion. "Do you love her?"

Remus did not hesitate in answering, "Yes."

"Does she love you?"

"Yes." Again, he did not hesitate.

The redhead seemed to consider this information for a moment before giving the professor a half smile. "Then I guess it's okay with me," Ron said. "Oh, I'm sorry for our behavior in class lately, I think we got a little carried away. It won't happen again."

Remus could not help but smile at Ron – for saying that he was okay with his relationship with Hermione and for apologizing. That was not what he was expecting from the boy, considering that previous experience proved Ron was not the reasonable one.. Now, if only he could get Harry tosay the same as Ron.

Harry looked very reluctant to admit that he was okay with the relationship between his best friend and his father's best friend, because, well, he really was not okay with it. Frankly, it creeped him out. But if it would make everyone else happy, he would just have to suck it up and say that it was okay.

"I am sorry too, Remus. I did not mean to be so spiteful and immature. I just did not like the idea of you two being together, I still don't, but I will get over it," Harry said as Remus patted him on the back.

"Thank you, Harry," Remus smiled at the bespectacled boy before looking at the redhead as well and pointing to his office door. "Now I think you two owe someone else an apology."

The two boys turned towards Remus' office and saw Hermione standing in the doorway. She looked like she had been crying as she was wiping her eyes and sniffling a little. The boys flashed her their crooked smiles and said they were sorry for treating her the way they did. She stopped them halfway through their apologies by flinging herself at them.

"Oh, you boys are so stupid!" Hermioneexclaimed through happy tears.Finally, her two best friends were talking to her again, even if her parents no longer wanted to.

The four of them spent a few more minutes talking about Hermione being a werewolf and how things were working out between she and Remus before he released the imperturbable charm and sent the boys on their way to their next class with a note for being late.

As the boys left the DADA classroom, they heard a voice that had an uncanny resemblance to that of Mrs. Weasley screech out, "Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter, just what the bloody hell is wrong with you two?"

"Mum?" Ron said as he turned to Harry with a grimace on his face before he noticed his younger sister standing there scowling at them with her hands on her hips.

"Oh Merlin, here we go," Harry mumbled as the youngest Weasley started in on the boys about their behavior towards Hermione.

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Hours later, when classes were complete for the day and dinner was over, Hermione made her way down to the DADA classroom, her mind running through the events of the past hour.

Dinner was back to the way things used to be, with Hermione sittingnear Harry and Ron with her nose in a book and the two boys talking about quidditch strategies. It was great to have things nearly back to normal...if only the full moon wasn't that night.

But, at least the boys were okay with her now - as long as she did not speak about Remus that much, they were fine. They could handle the werewolf thing just fine, they even talked about becoming animagi like Harry's father and Sirius did for Remus back when they were in school. Hermione was so touched that she let the tears run down her face until Ron told her "turn the waterworks off already, you're getting my robe all wet!"

So, it was with a little bounce in her step that Hermione walked into the DADA classroom. She owed Remus a big thank you for setting the boys straight and she could not wait to see him. The door to his office was open and she walked in without knocking. Remus was sitting at his desk marking some papers and sipping from a cup of tea. She could not stop herself from thinking how gorgeous he looked just then...not that she wanted to stop herself from thinking that, but she wouldn't have been able to even if she did.

He looked up and smiled when Hermione walked through the door. "Hello, love," he said as he dropped his quill and stood up to wrap his arms around her.

Hermione snuggled into his embrace and whispered into his neck. "Thank you for earlier. You really set the boys straight and I appreciate it so much, I can't even tell you!"

Remus had to fight the shudder he felt whenher hot breath and warm lips brushedagainst his neck. It was too close to sunset, he did not want to lose control of himself this close to transformation time.

He shook his head to clear the hazy beginnings of arousal - _I am a sad old man, getting turned on just by having this beautiful creature whisper against my neck! It used to take a bit more than that to get me riled up! Ah, I can just blame it on the full moon...yes, that's it._

Once he was sure that his head...er, both of them...was clear, he leaned in to brush his lips against hers before he whispered against her cheek. "I would do anything to make sure you are happy, love. Besides, the boys were taking things a little too far by misbehaving in class and it was time for all the nonsense to end."

They held each other for a moment more before Hermione stepped back and pulled two vials from her pocket. "I have our Wolfsbane Potion, we better take it before itgets too late."

After they both swallowed their doses of the potion, Remus gently tugged Hermione toward the fire and settled her down on the blanket spread out in front of it. He sat next to her as she leant back to lay down on the soft fabric.

It was a tender moment between two lovers as he gently stroked her brown hair and she watched him with a soft smile brightening her features. "I love you so much, Mione," Remus murmured. "I am so glad that something so...perfect...came out of you being cursed with lycanthropy."

Hermione's heart jumped at the depth of feeling in her lover's voice and tears sprang to her eyes for the second time in as many hours. _I really need to work on this crying thing! Three times in one day, twice in under two hours...I'm turning into such an emotional basketcase!_

She reached up to pull his face down to meet hers and when their lips were just about touching, she whispered, "Me too." The kiss was soft and brief as the moon was about to make its appeareance.

As they removed their clothing to prepare for the transformation that would take place in mere minutes, Hermione looked her lover over and she knew that in the morning she wouldgive him a _proper_ 'thank you'for being there for her.

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**And there you have it, folks. I finished this up at work just becauseI was too excited to get it posted now that I could not wait until I got home tonight to finish it.**

**I will try to get the next chapter up on Thursday or Friday and the final chapter on Sunday...wow, this will be my first finished product...how cool!**


	10. 10: At peace with myself

_**Disclaimer: Still the same as it was last chapter, and the chapter before that, and the one before that...you get the idea.**_

**So, today is the big deadline...**

**I just finished tidying up this chapter and figured I would post it now so that I can focus on getting the final chapter finished...it will be an epilogue set at the end of the school year. It will probably be considerably shorter than most of the chapters, but hopefully just as good as the others.**

**Thank you for all of the absolutely wonderful reviews...I am sorry if I have not replied to all of them individually yet – I know that I have a few that are still waiting for a reply & I will get to them when all is said and done, I promise. Oh, thank you to Joani for the anon review...I appreciate it!**

**If you haven't done so already, please check out the sketches Evil Cat Hater drew for this story. They really are wonderful! They can be found at her Live Journal.**

**This chapter is nothing special, really...for some reason it was extremely difficult to write and I am not all that pleased with it, but it does round out the challenge requirements, I think. The epilogue will be pure fluff with a happy ending, since I cannot bear to see unhappy endings. Anyway, enjoy...**

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_**I've dealt with my ghosts and I've faced all my demons**_

_**Finally content with a past I regret**_

_**I've found you find strength in your moments of weakness**_

_**For once I'm at peace with myself...**_

_**--I'm Moving On by Rascal Flatts**_

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**Chapter Ten**

**At peace with myself...**

The Easter holidays arrived quickly and Hermione found herself at to the Burrow with the boys, Ginny, and, most importantly, Remus.

When she found out that her parents were serious about not wanting her to come home for the holiday, Hermione thought that she and Remus could spend the break together at the castle. When she mentioned it to Remus, however, he informed her that they would be going to the Burrow instead.

Hermione only hoped that she would be able to sneak in some quality time with Remus considering that the entire Weasley family and most of the Order would be there for at least some part of the Holiday. So far, it did not look promising, and they had been there for a few days already.

Harry and Ron were beyond pleased to have their friend there with them and were equally as pleased to be away from school for a week. The two things together meant that Hermione could not move without the boys knowing and asking why. It was not much fun for Hermione to be constantly surrounded by the boys when all she wanted to do was be with Remus.

Thankfully, Ginny noticed her friend's hopeless situation after the third day and decided to help Hermione by distracting the boys. Ginny rounded up her brothers and Harry and led them out to the field for a little impromptu Quidditch practice. At the mere mention of playing Quidditch, Harry and Ron quickly forgot about Hermione, just as planned.

With the boys out of the way, all Hermione had to worry about was Mrs. Weasley since Mr. Weasley was still at work at the Ministry of Magic. Hermione checked to make sure that Mrs. Weasley was sufficiently occupied – she was preparing for dinner – before she ran up the stairs to Remus' room.

The door was closed when she got there so she rapped her knuckles against the door softly and waited. She heard movement and rustling of sheets or something before the door opened a few inches. She looked up to see a very ruffled-looking Remus staring at her, a lopsided grin forming on his face, and she thought that she had never seen anything sexier in her life.

"Hullo, love," Remus' voice was raspy with sleep and Hermione immediately felt bad for waking him. The full moon passed only a few days ago, so he must still feel somewhat winded and tired, because she certainly did.

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry."

"I was just napping, but I am glad that you came up to see me." Remus reached out to grab Hermione's hand and pulled her into the room before closing the door again.

Hermione turned to get a full look at him and saw that he was wearing only a pair of boxers. She drank in the sight of him as if she had not seen him in weeks, when in reality they spent the night together only five days ago...it still felt like weeks ago.

Remus chuckled at her assessing look and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close to his bare chest. He moved them to his bed so that he could cuddle with her under his warm blankets. Once they were comfortably ensconced beneath the covers, Remus tenderly kissed her. He would have liked to be less tender and more...passionate...but he was not sure how much time they would have to themselves, and he despised being interrupted.

After a few moments of tender kisses and soft caresses, Remus tilted his head back and gazed at his lover. Her eyes were closed and her lips were quirked up in a contented smile giving the impression that she was a very happy woman. Remus loved that look on her face and he could not tear his eyes away.

Hermione knew that he was staring at her, but she liked the feel of his eyes on her – they seemed to burn trails on her skin. It was only when she thought she might fall asleep if she kept her eyes shut a moment longer that she finally opened her eyes and looked up at her him. He was still staring at her with that lopsided grin of his marking his lips.

"Hi," Hermione whispered.

"Hi," Remus chuckled.

"What are you thinking about?"

"You. How much I love you. How I wish we had more time to spend alone," Remus answered without hesitation. "What about you?"

Hermione smiled broadly at his thoughts. She knew that most men become very uncomfortable when faced with that question, but Remus answered it so honestly, and without being coerced, and she loved him all the more for it. Remembering that he asked her the same question, Hermione answered by telling him what she was thinking about before he gave his answer.

"The same thing as you. I've been thinking about spending time with you from the moment we left the castle to come here. But I was also thinking about whether or not I should tell everyone about me being a werewolf. I mean, the Weasleys deserve to know and so do the members of the Order, right?"

Remus considered her answer. He knew that she would have a lot on her mind and he was very glad that she was honest about it. "You will have to tell them at some point so you might as well tell everyone while they are all in the same place. No sense waiting and having to tell the news over and over."

"You're right, of course. I just don't know if I have the courage to do it today, but I don't know if I can wait a moment longer either."

Remus pulled his love closer and breathed in the scent of her as he caressed her back. "You have the courage, Mione. I know you do. And I will be right there with you, so you have nothing to worry about," he whispered into her hair.

"It's settled then, I will tell everyone tonight. Thank you, Remus. I love you," Hermione murmured as she peppered his neck with kisses.

"Mmmm, don't do that, love," Remus groaned and Hermione smiled against his skin. "We don't have time to finish what you are starting by doing that. Maybe later tonight we can sneak some time together. I'm sure Ginny will cover for you if anything comes up."

"I'm sure she will, and if she doesn't I will hex her into oblivion," she said with a devious glint in her eyes causing Remus to chuckle.

"You should go get ready for dinner. I'm sure everyone will be here soon," Remus said as he climbed out of bed and pulled Hermione up after him. He pulled her close as they stood in front of the door and kissed her lovingly. The kiss was short but it conveyed all the feelings the two lovers felt and caused both to lose their breath.

Hermione flashed a bright smile at Remus when she stepped back to catch her breath. "I am so glad that we had a few minutes alone, I was beginning to miss you terribly."

"I know what you mean, I was beginning to think that the boys were trying to keep you from me on purpose. I guess that I owe Ginny for distracting them long enough for me to cuddle with you, though it was not for as long as I would have liked."

Remus opened the door for Hermione and he gently smacked her bum as she walked by. She shot him a mock glare before she laughed and said, "I will see you at dinner. Make sure the seat next to you is open so that we can sit together."

Remus watched her as she walked down the hall. He loved the way her hips swayed as she walked and he felt himself stir as he watched. Once she turned the corner, Remus ducked back into his room, shut the door and leant against it for a moment. He looked down at himself and groaned. _I need to take a shower. A cold shower._

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The kitchen was crowded and noisy. The long wooden table had been lengthened magically earlier that day in order to seat the Weasleys and all their guests. Many Order member were there, including Snape, and they looked like a real motley crew with all the different people mixed together at the same table.

Remus sat near the far end of the table next to Bill Weasley and made sure to keep the seat to his left available for Hermione by having Ginny sit on the other side of the open seat – she would tell anyone who tried to sit there that the seat was for Hermione. It worked well since the only person who tried to sit there was Tonks, though she did not take kindly to Ginny telling her she could not sit there. The pink-haired woman turned to Remus with a pout but he merely shrugged his shoulders and pointed to the other side of the table.

Remus heard talk, on previous occasions, that Tonks had a crush on him, but he always ignored the talk and feigned ignorance when she tried to flirt with him. Sometimes that would just cause her to increase her level of flirtation, but other times she would just stomp off in a huff, only to come back after an hour and try again. Either way, it irked him to no end that she just would not leave him alone.

Sure, she was a fine person, quite entertaining even, what with all her clumsiness. But the fact that she was a metamorphmagus and could change her appearance at will freaked him out just a bit. If she were to be his girlfriend, how would he know who she was when she changed her appearance without giving him warning first? In a crowd of people, she could be anyone, and what would happen if he kissed the wrong girl thinking that it was her? It was just too odd to think about.

Besides, he loved Hermione and he was not about to do anything to ruin what he had with her, including worrying about Tonks pouting over not being able to sit next to him. She could just bugger off because that was Hermione's seat and he would much rather have her next to him.

Remus was jarred from his thoughts as he heard Ginny call out his love's name.

"Mione! I saved you a seat here," Ginny shouted above the noise in the room as she saw her best friend enter the room. She pointed to the seat next to her as Hermione made her way over to where she was sitting.

"Thanks for saving me a seat, Gin," Hermione said with a conspiring smile as she sat down. She felt a hand on her thigh and turned to see Remus greet her with a smile.

"Evening, Mione."

"Evening, Professor," Hermione had to forcibly remind herself to not fling herself at him and kiss him silly, so she just flashed him a half-smile before she turned back to Ginny. She noted that his hand did not leave her thigh, it merely squeezed before moving to a caressing motion.

"How was your Quidditch game, Gin?" Hermione asked her friend.

"It was fun. George nearly fell off his broom and ended up inventing a new move, it was brilliant!" Ginny said excitedly.

Hermione laughed at the mental image of George hanging from his broom, flying about like mad while the others just watched. It had to have been a funny sight.

A moment later, Ginny shot her a mischievous look as she leaned closer to Hermione. "Did you have yourself a good time while we were playing Quidditch?" Ginny whispered, though not quiet enough because Remus heard and nearly choked on his pumpkin juice.

Hermione patted Remus on the back as he coughed a little and flashed him a sickly sweet smile. "Are you alright, Professor?"

"Er, I am fine, Hermione, thank you," he answered, a blush creeping up his face causing Hermione to laugh softly.

Hermione turned back Ginny with a look that said 'keep it down'. Ginny smiled innocently to her friend and raised her eyebrows, waiting for her answer.

Hermione shook her head as she leant in to whisper, "Yes, I did, but not in the way you are thinking. You did not leave us enough time for that."

Hermione chuckled when Ginny's eyes widened, but then she nearly choked on her own pumpkin juice when Ginny asked her next question. "Have either of you ever heard of a quickie?"

When Hermione was finished sputtering on her drink, she whispered, "Yes, we have, but we wanted it to be meaningful so we decided to just cuddle for a bit. Now drop it."

The rest of the meal passed in pleasant conversation and as the dessert appeared on the table, Remus nudged Hermione's leg with his own. "Time to get it over with, love," he whispered so quietly Hermione could barely hear him.

She nodded and, beneath the table, she grasped his had in hers for strength – she knew that she would not be able to go through with it if she did not have his strength to help her. When she felt the warmth of his hand flow through her, she squared her shoulders and her face was set in grim determination. In mere minutes, the entire group would know one of her darkest secrets and that very idea scared her to death.

Hermione glanced at Remus quickly, just to see the love in his eyes, before she lifted her fork to tap it against her glass to get everyone's attention. As if reading her mind, Dumbledore, who was sitting at the other end of the table, called for everyone to quiet down.

"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt dessert and the many delightful conversations, but it seems that Miss Granger has something that she would like to share with us all. Now, if you would all give her your undivided attention, I would greatly appreciate it." Every head at the table turned from him to Hermione as they waited for her to tell them what it was that was so important as to interrupt dessert.

Hermione blushed under the scrutiny of all present, but the gentle squeeze from Remus' hand forced her to speak. "I have something that I want to tell you all that you will probably find disturbing." She spoke loudly from her seat – she knew that she could not stand at the moment because she was not sure that her legs would support her, she was so nervous.

"Several months ago, I was in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. I was collecting some ingredients for a project and it was midnight during the Full moon," Hermione paused as several gasps passed through the crowd at the table. She continued in cool detachment – if she was just reciting facts, then it was not so difficult. "I was foolish enough to be out there alone and I did not realize, until it was too late, that I forgot my wand. I was attacked by a werewolf just as I was finished collecting what I needed. It...it bit me on my left shoulder."

Mrs. Weasley was crying into Mr. Weasley's shoulder, broken words passing from her mouth, "Poor...dear...thinking...who...poor..."

McGonagall eyed Hermione sadly, as if all hope was lost for the girl. "What were you thinking, Miss Granger, going into the forest alone and without your wand?"

Hermione looked at McGonagall as tears began to well up in her eyes. "I am sorry, Professor. I am afraid that I was not thinking at all when I went out alone without my wand."

"That much is obvious," Snape sneered. He looked shocked for a moment at the initial news before his expression returned to his usual scowl. Hermione knew that he was thinking back to that day when she asked him to teach her to brew the Wolfsbane Potion.

Tonks looked suspiciously between Remus and Hermione, her mind running through the implications of the two of them being werewolves.

Most of the Weasleys and the remaining members of the Order had no major reactions to the news besides pity for the young woman before them. They were already used to dealing with one werewolf, what was the big deal if there was another? As long as they both took the proper precautions, they were fine with it.

Mr. Weasley, on the other hand, looked livid for a moment as he stared at Remus. Everyone at the table knew what he was thinking, hell some of them were probably thinking the same thing themselves. A few people still gasped when he spoke those thoughts aloud. "Remus Lupin, you better tell me that you had nothing to do with this, or I will hex you to within an inch of your life!"

Remus, to his credit, remained calm and sincere as he answered his accuser. "I swear to you, Arthur, I had nothing to do with this. I have been taking the Wolfsbane Potion consistently for the past few years. It was not me."

Arthur still looked unconvinced, so Dumbledore spoke again. "Remus is telling the truth, he was safely locked up in his rooms that night. I know this because I was the one to lock the doors after I met with him just before the sun set that day. I will also add that both Remus and Hermione take every possible step to protect themselves and others from any dangers that may result from their transformation, and I request that all of you treat this as if it were a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix, and therefore, not mention a word of what you heard outside of this house."

Dumbledore's explanation seemed to pacify Arthur, and anyone else who harbored similar thoughts, and everyone present nodded at the Headmaster's request.

Hermione was immensely relieved that everyone seemed to accept her new condition and it was like a giant weight was lifted from her shoulders. A kind of calm settled over her for the first time since the horrible event took place. Everyone important in her life knew her _secret_ now and she was finally at peace with herself. She realized then that no matter how her parents felt about the situation, she would always have these people to call _family_. They loved her and accepted her when her own parents could not bring themselves to, and she was proud to know each and every one of them, Snape included.

After the dessert plates were cleared and everyone made their way into the sitting room, Hermione whispered to Remus. "Well, that went well, don't you think? Better than I thought it would and I feel relieved."

"I don't think this crowd could have reacted in any other way. They are already used to dealing with one werewolf, why would their feelings change now? I'm proud of you for letting everyone know, though. They all adore you too much to push you away because of what you are once a month."

Hermione wanted very much to kiss Remus at that moment, but she opted for a quick hug while she whispered, "Thank you, Remus. I am going up to bed now...I will see you in your room soon?"

Remus stepped back and flashed her a wolfish grin before he whispered, "Okay, love. I will be up in a little while."

Hermione said her goodnights to everyone and received a few hugs along the way, several were from Mrs. Weasley, who was of the opinion that she could squeeze the lycanthropy right out of the young woman.

"Molly, dear, take it easy on the girl. She knows that you care for her, you don't need to prove it by squeezing the life out of her," Arthur lovingly dragged his wife off of Hermione. "We are very sorry that you have to suffer as you do now, doll, but we are happy that you have someone to help you with transformations and such. Remus is a good man and he would stop at nothing to help the people he cares about."

Hermione smiled and thanked Arthur and Molly for their concern before she turned to search for their youngest child. When she finally came upon Ginny and the boys, she told the boys that she would see them in the morning and asked Ginny if she could talk to her for a minute. Ginny followed Hermione out of the room toward the stairs so that no one would hear what she had to say.

"I'm going to stay with Remus tonight, Gin. Do you think that you could cover for me if anything comes up?"

Ginny gave Hermione a knowing look and a mischievous grin. "Of course, I'll cover for you while you two randy werewolves shag your brains out, but you owe me."

Hermione shook her head and laughed as she turned to make her way up the stairs to Remus' room. Once she was inside the room, she went to his private bathroom to get herself ready for bed.

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Remus climbed into bed an hour later to find Hermione naked and asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he merely kissed her forehead and settled himself in beside her. However, as soon as he closed his eyes, he felt a hand creep across his chest and down his stomach before if stopped on his hardening member and his eyes shot open. _I thought she was asleep?_

He closed his eyes and sighed contentedly while the hand worked to make him fully hard. His eyes shot open again when he felt a tongue lave at his nipple and he moaned in pleasure.

"I thought you were asleep, but I am certainly glad that you are not," Remus said, his voice laden with want.

Hermione licked a trail from his nipple up to his neck before she finally nibbled his ear lobe. "I was asleep, but my desire for you woke me up," Hermione whispered in her best 'sex-kitten' impersonation, causing Remus to growl as he flipped her onto her back and ravished her mouth.

Minutes later, Remus was very glad that he had the foresight to cast a silencing spell on the room – there was no need for the rest of the house to hear Hermione's cries of passion or his grunts of pleasure, for their love-making was decidedly passionate and slightly rough.

After their desires were sated and they both lay there completely exhausted, Hermione snuggled into Remus and fell asleep. Remus watched her sleep for a few minutes before he joined her, dreams of life with Hermione after Hogwarts consuming his slumber.

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Just one more to go...yay!


	11. Epilogue: Something to talk about

_**Disclaimer: This is the last time I will have to say this, well for this fic at least...I do not own anything belonging to the delightful JKR or the equally delightful Bonnie Raitt. Oh yea, the same goes for Lonestar.**_

**Here you go folks...'tis the end of the road for this story. Woohoo! I actually met the deadline! Granted, it was the extended deadline, but still, I did it...okay, fine, you don't have to be as happy and impressed as I am...**

**Thank you all so much for reading this fic and thank you even more to those of you who left me all the wonderful reviews.**

**I hope you enjoy this...I will warn you that it is fluffy, but that is the way I like my endings...ah, hopeless romanticism is great...Oh, I meant for this to be shorter than the other chapters, but it just did not want to end...**

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_**Let's give 'em something to talk about**_

_**A little mystery to figure out**_

_**Let's give 'em something to talk about**_

_**How about love?**_

_**--Something to Talk About by Bonnie Raitt**_

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**Epilogue**

**Something to talk about...**

The day of the Trio's graduation dawned warm and bright and stayed that way through the morning, making an outdoor ceremony possible. As the house elves set up the chairs and stage on the grounds for the ceremony, Remus was in his room, talking to himself in the mirror.

"Are you sure you are ready for this, old man?" Remus asked his reflection as he ran a hand through his sandy brown hair that was peppered with more greys than he could count. "What if she says no? What then?"

He stared at his reflection as if waiting for it to answer that question on its own. When it didn't, he sighed and turned away from the mirror. "I guess we will cross that bridge when we get to it, eh?"

Remus finished getting himself ready for the day, donning his most dressy teaching robes, before he left for the Great Hall. As he walked down the hall, his right hand patted the pocket over his heart, making sure that the tiny box was still there. It was.

The Great Hall was crowded and noisy as per usual during the hour of lunch. Remus took his seat next to Minerva McGonagall and nodded a greeting to Minerva and the Headmaster.

"Big day today, my boy. Do you have everything in order?" Albus asked with that ever-present twinkle in his eye.

Remus flushed at the meaning behind the Headmaster's words...he knew that Albus was aware of his 'relationship' with Hermione, or at least he thought that Albus was aware after that meeting many months ago when Hermione told the Headmaster of her condition. But still, having Albus mention something on this day of all days was just too much.

_He could not possibly know what I have planned?_ Remus just shook his head and focused on the food before him, leaving Albus to chuckle at his refusal to answer the question.

"Ah, well I hope you do. I have arranged for an End of the Year Dance to take place this evening after the ceremony and I think it would be a fine opportunity to complete what you no doubt have planned."

_Grr, that man is insufferable! Can he hint a little more to the fact that he is omniscient? Wait a second...does that mean that I can ask Hermione to be my date, since she will no longer be a student at that point?_

Remus glared at the Headmaster as the old man turned his attention to the crowd of students and called the Hall to silence.

"My dear students, I am pleased to announce that I have arranged for an end of the year dance this evening after the seventh years' graduation ceremony. Everyone is invited and the dress will be casual, not fancy, so do not fuss over your attire too much."

The Great Hall erupted into talk about the dance with cries and complaints from many girls over the lack of notice. _How ever would they find something to wear in time?_

Remus ate his lunch in silence, only answering the occasional question aimed at him, and watched his love as she shared her last lunch at Hogwarts with her friends. She looked radiant and happy, ready to take that next step out into the world.

She told him last night, as they walked around the lake under the light of the quarter moon, that she would miss being a student greatly, but she was quite ready to officially move into adulthood. They talked about what she planned to do after this day, whether she still wanted to be professor or if she decided to try her hand at something else.

Remus knew that he would support her in any decision she made, but he could not even help the relief and elation he felt when Hermione told him that she still planned to teach. Apparently, Albus informed her earlier that day that her assistantship under Remus' guidance was considered credit toward an apprenticeship and she need only complete one full year of supervised training before she would be considered a professor.

Remus was delighted and told her that he would be pleased if she would continue on as his apprentice. Naturally, she accepted and her fate was set for the next year of her life.

Remus shook his head to clear his mind of the memories of last night as people emptied out of the hall. He stood from his seat and walked down to the Gryffindor table to congratulate his favourite students on their achievements before they were lost in the chaos that was to be the graduation ceremony.

"Congratulations you three! Are you excited to be moving on?" Remus asked the Trio merrily.

"Thanks, Professor Lupin! I don't know about these two, but I am ready for that next step," Hermione said, as she was the only one without food in her mouth at the moment.

Remus laughed as he bent down and said, "I think it would be okay for you to call me Remus in public at this point, Mione." Remus stood up straight and focused his gaze on the boys, who were finally finished chewing.

"Oh, we are very happy to be moving on. I think one more potions class with Snape would have been the death of me!" Ron exclaimed dramatically, causing the other three to laugh.

It was then that Remus realized he had no idea what the boys were planning to do now that their time at Hogwarts was over. "What are you boys planning to do now?" Remus asked as he sat down next to Hermione and across from the boys.

"We were both accepted into Auror school and we leave for training at the end of August," Harry said proudly as Ron nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Good for you boys! I am quite proud of you! Has Hermione informed you of what she will be doing come September?"

"Yes, she told us at breakfast. We are proud of her and we know that she will love teaching," Ron said with a fond smile at his best friend.

Remus inquired about the dance and who the boys would be bringing as their dates. Ron was going to ask Luna and he decided that he better do it now before someone else beat him to it, however unlikely that was. Harry would be going with Parvati, as she was the first girl to ask him, only moments after Dumbledore made the announcement. He wanted to go with Ginny, but he knew that she was not at all interested.

"What about you, Remus? Are you going with anyone?" Harry asked with a mischievous glint in his eye. Harry was steadily becoming more comfortable with the idea of Hermione and Remus being together...he could just about say that he was happy for them.

Remus chuckled nervously and turned to look at Hermione. "I was hoping that Mione would consent to being my date for the evening."

Hermione was surprised and blushed. "Are you sure that would be okay? I don't want to cause you any trouble..."

Remus smiled and stopped Hermione from continuing. "I am positive and you will not cause me any trouble. Remember, you will no longer be a student once the ceremony is over, we can do whatever we want after that."

Hermione smiled and consented to being his date. "I will meet you at your rooms at 7 o'clock, does that sound good?" Hermione nodded as Remus smiled and bid farewell to the two soon-to-be former students. The ceremony would be starting shortly and everyone needed to be out on the grounds to prepare, so Harry and Hermione quickly rounded up Ron and made their way out to the grounds.

**

* * *

**

The ceremony itself was long and tedious, as most graduation ceremonies are – full of long speeches and waiting for one's name to be called, only to sit once again and wait while everyone else's name is called. Both Remus and Hermione were of the same thought that the magical world would have somehow manage to found a way to speed things up by now. Apparently not.

Once the ceremony was over, all the girls ran for their dormitories to ready themselves for the dance. Hermione was lucky enough to have her own rooms with her own private bath, so she was able to get ready in a more relaxing manner than the other girls.

After she finished primping herself, Hermione occupied herself with daydreams of her future – working at Hogwarts, sharing a future with Remus. She was still unsure what Remus' thoughts of the future were – they never discussed it, but he loved her so she assumed that what they had was meaningful and lasting. She knew that she would have to ask him as some point, especially since she still did not know what she was going to do for the summer.

Ron offered for her to stay at the Burrow with his family, and Harry offered for her to stay at Grimmauld Place, once they learned that she was not welcome at her parents house any more. They felt terrible for their friend – she suffered so much this year and now she was essentially homeless. For her part, Hermione thanked both of them, but she let them know that she wanted to wait and see if Remus had any thoughts on the matter.

Hermione shook herself from her thoughts to see that it was nearly 7 o'clock and promptly checked herself in the mirror to make sure that she still looked okay. Remus knocked on her door at two minutes to 7 and bowed when she opened the door. Hermione ushered him into the room and shut the door before she turned to admire him.

He was wearing tan pressed slacks and a light brown short-sleeve button down shirt. His fringe hung in his eyes and gave him a youthful look that Hermione found very appealing. He smelled like the forest after rain – clean, fresh, and decidedly natural. Hermione breathed in his scent and sighed as he kissed her in greeting.

"You look beautiful, Mione," he whispered as he nuzzled her neck.

She was wearing a brown fitted skirt with a tan and brown argyle sweater vest and her brown hair flowed down her back in loose curls. She looked beautiful in a very natural and understated way.

"We match," Hermione breathed and Remus chuckled.

"Yes, we do. People will think that we planned this." He replied as he reached for her hand. "Are you ready to give everyone something to talk about?"

**

* * *

**

The Great Hall was sparsely decorated, the enchanted ceiling and some well-placed candles creating the ambiance of a cool summer night. Small round tables were placed around the perimeter of the Hall and a stage was set up next to the Head Table. A popular wizarding band, Smashing Pumpkin Pasties, was on stage playing a fast tune and the dance floor was crowded.

The students were all dressed in their casual best, though a few girls, such as Lavender and the Patil twins, were dressed a touch more formally, much to the chagrin of their decidedly under-dressed dates.

It seemed as though time stopped as Hermione and Remus passed through the open double doors of the Great Hall hand-in-hand. Although the band continued playing, everyone stopped dancing and all heads in the room turned to see who walked through the door. The rumble of gossip was barely heard above the music, and Hermione could see many heads bent together, no doubt discussing why Hermione Granger and Professor Lupin were holding hands.

Remus tried to ignore the petty gossip that was making its way through the Hall and focused on the Head Table. He caught the Headmaster's eye and knew, by the twinkle in his eye and the knowing smile on his face, that the old man expected them to arrive together. Remus nodded to the old man and turned back to his date.

He met Hermione's eyes and they smiled at each other. "What do you say we find a table, maybe a private one in a corner somewhere?"

Hermione laughed softly and followed Remus through the Hall in search of an open table. There were no 'private one in a corner' left; they were all being occupied by overzealous young couples bent on snogging when no one was looking. The couple at the last table they passed in the darkest corner of the Hall was busted by Snape just after Remus and Hermione walked by. Unfortunately, Snape did not make the couple find another place to snog, so Remus and Hermione continued on in their search.

When, at last, it seemed all of the tables were occupied, Hermione spotted Ginny sitting at one by herself. She pointed Remus in the direction of Ginny's table and the two of them made their way over to the solitary redhead.

"Evening, Miss Weasley," Remus said once they were standing in front of her table.

The redhead looked up at the sound of Remus' voice and beamed at her best friend and her favourite professor. "Hullo, Professor. 'Lo, Mione. Would you two care to join me?"

Hermione smiled at her friend and sat next to her. Remus sat next to Hermione, leaving the seat between him and Ginny open.

"Did you come to the dance alone, Gin?" Hermione asked her friend as she tried to subtly locate Draco Malfoy. She could not find him in the crowd and quickly turned her attention back to her friend.

"No, I came with a date. He's just getting some refreshments."

At the mention of refreshments, Remus stood up and made his way to the refreshments table, leaving Hermione and Ginny to their 'girl talk'.

Hermione noticed the fact that Ginny did not mention who her 'date' was, but she did not say anything. She had a feeling that tonight was a coming out for Ginny just as it was Hermione. The world of Hogwarts got another surprise tonight if Ginny arrived with who Hermione suspected she did.

"I see that you and Remus arrived together; quite the entrance you two made, every pair of eyes in the room were on you for a few solid minutes."

Hermione snorted and shook her head. "Yes, we should have expected that kind of reaction from everyone seeing a student – er, former student – and a professor arrive at a dance together. But still, it was a bit disconcerting."

Remus came back with two goblets and a plate of food to find the girls giggling over some of the other 'couples' who arrived to the dance together. They seemed particularly surprised with one couple – Pansy Parkinson and Colin Creevey – who knew she like younger men. Moments after Remus returned to the table, Hermione was not surprised to see Draco approach with two goblets of pumpkin juice and a plate of food.

"Sorry I took so long, love. I could not get away from Blaise; he wanted to talk about some nonsense regarding his ex-girlfriend..." Draco hesitated when he looked up to see the other two people sitting at the table with his girlfriend. "Oh, good evening, Professor. Hullo, Granger. I didn't know you would be joining us."

Draco set one of the goblets in front of Ginny as he took his seat next to her. "Thank you, Drake. I asked them to sit with us, I hope you don't mind, Hermione is my best friend after all.."

Draco looked unsure as he glanced between Professor Lupin and Hermione, as if he was trying to figure out what was going on and if it was safe to act normal in front of them. Hermione noticed the look he was giving them and decided to make him feel a little less unsure. "I already know about you two. I have for months, in fact."

"Right. What about you two? Are you together?" Draco asked in the least offensive manner Hermione ever heard from him. She could not help but chuckle at this and she nodded her head. "Ah, so Granger was shagging a professor, who would have thought that?"

Remus shot Draco a warning look and Draco raised his hands up in a sign of surrender. "I was only joking, Professor. No offence intended."

The foursome moved into easy conversation as the two couple got more comfortable with each other. Neither couple moved to dance for a while as they were too absorbed in friendly chatting. They snacked on some of the party food and watched the many other couples cutting a rug on the dance floor.

When the dance was more than half way through, Remus grew tired of just watching everyone else dance.

"Would you care to dance my love?"

"I would love to."

Remus led Hermione onto the dance floor just in time for the start of a slow song. The couple moved to the centre of the floor and stood close as they swayed to the music. Remus did not worry about being 'appropriate' and Remus wrapped his arms tight around Hermione's waist as he held her as close to him as possible.

Hermione rested her head against Remus' shoulder as she let the soft sounds of the band flow through her. She shuddered when Remus began to sing the words of the song in a low whisper against her temple.

_I don't know how you do what you do_

_I'm so in love with you_

_It just keeps getting better_

_I want to spend the rest of my life_

_With you by my side_

_Forever and ever _

_Every little thing that you do_

_Baby, I'm amazed by you_

Hermione felt the tears well up as she listened to the words Remus was singing. They touched her heart and she tightened her hold on Remus in an effort to fuse their souls.

Remus knew this was the perfect moment for what he planned to do tonight and the song kept playing as he pulled back from Hermione. She looked up at him, worry and confusion in her eyes as she was unsure of why he stepped away. Her hands dropped from his neck but she still reach out for him with her left hand. He smiled at her as he shook his head and reached for the pocket over his heart.

Hermione watched as he pulled a very small item from his pocket while his other hand withdrew his wand from his pants pocket. She continued to watch as Remus charmed the item back to its original size, but she could not discern what the item was as he wrapped his hand around it.

Everything around them seemed to disappear as Remus bent down on one knee in the middle of the dance floor and fiddled with the item in his hand. Hermione felt the tears that gathered in her eyes earlier start to flow down her face as she realized what he was doing when he opened the small box that he held out in front of him. _Oh Merlin!_

"Remus..." Hermione breathed as she took in the sight of the square cut diamond set on a platinum ring. _That is the most beautiful I have ever seen! _

"Hermione, I know that we have not been together all that long in the grand scheme of things, but we have been through so much together and we have known each other for several years. I love you more than anything else in the world and I don't ever want to be without you. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me or that will ever happen to me. Please say that you want to spend the rest of your life with me, that you want to be my wife..."

Tears were pouring down her face as she listened to what Remus was saying. She never heard more romantic words and yet she could not bring herself to say anything to the man kneeling before her. She just glanced back and forth between the ring and him, her mind in shock over the whole situation. _He wants to marry me? He really wants to marry me?_

The longer Remus waited for Hermione's answer, the more he started to feel like a right fool for thinking that this beautiful young woman would want to spend her life attached to an old man like him. _I should have known better than to do this in public, but it just seemed like the perfect moment! I should have known that I would come out looking like a fool for asking her in public. At least if we were alone, it would not be so embarrassing if she said no!_

He bowed his head as he felt his own eyes become distinctly wet. It was then that he noticed the absolute silence that filled the Hall. It was suffocating to him and he wanted nothing more than to melt into the floor. _Why won't she just say something? Anything? If she would just hurry and say no, I could get the bloody hell out of here!_

Hermione's brain was jolted into action as she watched Remus bow his head. It was only then that she realized she had yet to speak. She also realized that the music stopped and she looked up to see every eye on her and Remus for the second time that night. She felt frozen under the weight of all those stares and the silence seemed to affect her ability to breath – she could not even force her lungs to take in air, she was so frozen. She tried to mentally shake herself and she turned back to Remus just as he was standing up.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I shouldn't have brought this up now. Forgive me," Remus choked the words out and he quickly turned away, not seeing the dawning flash in Hermione eyes. He started to walk away when Hermione grabbed his hand and made him turn around. He refused to meet her eyes, though.

"No, Remus, I am sorry. I was just so...shocked...that I froze. Don't leave, please," Hermione pleaded.

"Mione, if you don't want to marry me, just say so, that way I can leave with at least a modicum of my dignity in tact. Please." He still would not meet her eyes. He couldn't; he was afraid of her seeing his wet eyes. He was even more afraid of what he might see there in her eyes.

"You thought that I was going to say no?"

"Well, when you did not give me an answer after a solid five minutes – which were the longest five minutes of my life, I might add – I figured that you were disgusted at the very idea of spending your life with me and did not know how to let me down easy," Remus said bitterly.

"Oh...oh, no...I am so sorry, Remus. I did not mean to leave you hanging like that. I was just so surprised that I freaked and my brain took leave of my body for a few minutes." This got a little laugh out of Remus and Hermione smiled. "Make no mistake, Remus Lupin, I want nothing more than to spend my life with you."

Remus finally looked up at the love of his life, surprise written all over his face. "You do?"

"Yes, I do. Now kiss me, love," Hermione smiled as she stepped closer to Remus and reached up to kiss him. The Hall exploded with cheers and the lead singer of the band shouted a "Congratulations!" with his charmed voice.

Hermione and Remus kissed as the band started playing another slow song and Remus slid the ring onto her finger when they started dancing.

"I love you, Mione. I love you so much that it nearly killed me when I thought you were going to say no to me."

"I love you, Remus. I could never say no to you."

This was the happiest moment of his life and he never wanted it to end.

As he danced with his fiancée and held her tight, Remus thanked the fates for bringing Hermione into his life.. After so many years of hurt and heartache, he was truly looking forward to the lifetime of happiness that he would have with Hermione at his side.

**- FIN -**

* * *

**The song that Remus sang to Hermione is "Amazed" by Lonestar...beautiful song - if I ever get married, that will be my wedding song. I fell in love withthat songwhen I first heard it six or seven years ago and I knew instantly that would be my wedding song. **

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this fic! I certainly enjoyed writing it! Thank you to Lady Acacia for proposing the challenge - my first completed story is dedicated to you, since you were the one who challenged me to write it!**

**A big thank you to all the readers and a bigger thank you to all of the wonderful reviewers!**


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